


Standing Side By Side

by thekeybladetomyheart (ObsessedMuch)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Compliant to the end of DDD, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 12:22:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 45,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14748791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsessedMuch/pseuds/thekeybladetomyheart
Summary: After an encounter with Ansem and Xemnas in Twilight Town, Sora realizes that he might have a way to bring Roxas back. The only problem is, it's just a tiny bit dangerous and he needs the help of his friends to pull it off. Riku and Kairi definitely don't like it, but they know how determined Sora is. Will they be able to talk him out of it in time?Set after the end of Dream Drop Distance, but before Kingdom Hearts 3.





	1. (Not) Just Another Day

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, this story was inspired by the trailer shown at the 2017 Kingdom Hearts Orchestra tour. It started as a tiny little plot bunny, but quickly grew out of control. Between life and work, I had to leave and come back to it a couple different times, even rewriting the first half at one point. But, I finally finished it!
> 
> A few quick notes: I hadn't seen all the 0.2 cutscenes before I wrote this, so I basically ignored them. I knew that Riku and Mickey went to retrieve Aqua, and Sora went out to Olympus, so I kept those elements. However, I also added a little bit of time in between when Riku brings Kairi to the Tower, and when the boys set out on their own missions. This story takes place 3 months later, when they all come back to the Tower. 
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you think!

“Thunder!” A large ring of lightning bolts crashed to the ground, destroying the final few pieces of floating furniture. Kairi paused to wipe the sweat off her brow, and turned toward the magician standing a few feet behind her. “How was that?”

“Well, that was quite impressive. I must say, you seem to have quite the affinity for magic, my dear,” Merlin replied, clapping his hands together in delight. “Even Sora had difficulty with this particular level of magic. He always performed much better with physical attacks.”

Kairi smiled at the compliment and silently promised to gloat to Sora about it when she saw him next. “Yeah, Sora’s always been a pretty straightforward kind of guy. It takes a lot less mental effort to just beat things into submission. With that said, he could still crush me in a sparring match without breaking a sweat.”

“That may be true, but don’t sell yourself short. You’ve done quite a lot of work in such a short amount of time.” The magician was certainly more generous with praise than Yen Sid ever was. The former Keyblade Master never seemed truly surprised or impressed with anything. Still, she knew both sorcerers were pleased with how far she’d come in the short time since she began training. After all, time wasn’t exactly something they had in abundance. Master Xehanort had been quiet since the very close call during the Mark of Mastery exam, but everyone knew it couldn’t last much longer.

“With that artful show of magic, I’m calling our training to an end for the day,” Merlin said, interrupting Kairi’s train of thought.

“Are you sure, Merlin? I could go for a little while longer.” That wasn’t quite true; she could feel the headache that came with magical fatigue starting to form. However, she didn’t want to just _stop_ while she was still so far behind the others. She could grab an Elixir easily enough from the infirmary and keep practicing.

“Indeed, I have to get back to my study in Radiant Garden. I fear you’ve easily outpaced my expectations, and I didn’t bring the required materials for the next level. I’ll be back within the next few days, but in the meantime you can get some rest.”

Well, there wasn’t much she could do to get around that reasoning. She huffed out a breath. “Alright, I’ll report back to Yen Sid, in that case.”

With that, Merlin gave her a cheery wave. “Until next time, dear Kairi,” he said as he vanished into whatever magical realm he used to get around. No one was quite sure how he managed to travel between worlds without a gummi ship or a Keyblade, but they hadn’t had the courage to ask Yen Sid yet. Never mind the fact that he was unlikely to give them a direct answer, anyway.

She sighed. If there was nothing else to do right now, she might as well head straight up to the Tower Study. With any luck, Yen Sid would call Lea or even Sora (though he hadn’t been back in a few weeks) back to the Tower to train with her. Lea was a far more likely option, especially considering that they were fairly equally matched. That is, she thought somewhat bitterly, if he hadn’t surpassed her in that secret time-stopping dimension where he usually trained. Originally, she had thought that she’d be training there with him. However, since she could already manifest her Keyblade at will, Yen Sid had deemed it unnecessary. He had said that she could simply stay in the Tower, and he would bring in Merlin to help teach her magic in between bouts of physical training. She was secretly grateful for the change of plans, for a few reasons.

For one, it meant that she got some time to spend with Sora and Riku, something that had been sorely lacking in the past two years. When she first arrived, Sora had been off gallivanting around the Sleeping Worlds, but he’d come back before too long and the three of them had started training together. It had mostly consisted of the two boys helping her out, but she’d also realized how much she’d missed them both in that time. Their need to constantly compete with each other had eased a little, and it emphasized how much all of them had grown. Unfortunately, she’d also had plenty of up-close and personal experience with all the ways the two boys had _grown up_.

The childhood crushes she’d had on both of them had reemerged and evolved into a giant cluster of confusion, and now both her body and mind seemed determined to make a fool of her. She’d been caught a few times admiring Riku’s broad shoulders or Sora’s newly-developed muscles. She’d been able to play it off well enough with laughter and a particularly clever comment about Sora finally growing out of his noodle arms on one occasion, but she was pretty sure that at least Riku knew something was up. That slight embarrassment was worth it, though, for the three months or so that they had been at the Tower together. Then, Riku had been sent to the Realm of Darkness, and Sora to Olympus Coliseum, and she’d been left here alone.

Well, almost alone. Lea came by every few days or so to spar with her, which was awkward since she still didn’t really know how to feel around him. His presence was another reason she was grateful for staying in the Tower. After all, his Nobody Axel had been her captor at one point. Sure, he’d turned against the Organization and saved Sora’s life, but it wasn’t as if she’d been around to see that. Last time she’d seen him, he’d been running after her in one of those corridors of darkness. While Lea wasn’t exactly Axel, it was hard to get over the anger she felt every time she saw him. It was just a lot easier when he wasn’t here. Still, she was itching for a fight, her skin buzzing from all the magic she’d expelled earlier, and he’d be the perfect target for her frustration.

As she neared the top of the stairs leading to the study, she could hear voices coming from the room. She sped up, eager to see who was already here. Considering that King Mickey had gone with Riku, and Donald and Goofy were with Sora, it had really been too quiet here. When she got to the door, she reached for the handle, only to be startled when the door opened before she could turn it and she was met with blue eyes blown wide in surprise.

“Oh, Sora! You’re back!” Kairi shrieked in excitement. With that as her only warning, she jumped on her wayward friend. Unsuspecting as he’d been, he began to tip over from the force of her greeting. The two teenagers fell to the ground with a grunt, Sora wheezing as Kairi’s weight pushed the air from his lungs. She laughed as he struggled to sit up, pouting when she refused to move from his chest.

“Come on, Kairi. I can’t breathe,” he gasped, still attempting to dislodge her. She refused to move from her perch

“What, are you saying I’m fat? Sora, how could you?” Kairi said, mouth curling into an offended pout. A slight quiver lent just enough authenticity to the expression, and she could see that Sora was fooled by it.

“Of course I’m not –why would I say that, that’s mean. I just mean that you’re putting on some muscle now, and everyone knows that muscle is heavier than fat—” He was babbling now, trying to figure out the right thing to say. Kairi giggled, cutting him off. Realizing he’d been had, his pout returned in full force.

Still laughing, she relented and got off Sora’s chest. She reached her hand down to help him up as she told him, “Oh, don’t give me that face. I haven’t seen you in forever, so if anyone gets to be grumpy, it’s me.”

He accepted her help and pulled himself into a standing position, a sheepish smile spreading on his face. When he released her hand, he reached up to scratch his head. “Yeah, sorry about that. I had a lot to do at the Coliseum, and it took longer than we thought it would,” he said in apology.

“It’s fine, I’m just glad you’re back.”

“He has one more mission to run before he can relax for too long, I’m afraid.” Both teens startled at the sound of Yen Sid’s voice, having forgotten that they had an audience.

“What? He just got back, why does he have to leave again?” Kairi wasn’t exactly proud of the petulance that leaked into her voice, but really, she was so _tired_ of being the only one here.

“It’s only a short errand,” Sora reassured her quickly. “I just have to take the train over to Twilight Town to check out the Old Mansion. DiZ left some of his lab equipment there, and I’m just checking to see if I can find anything that might help us understand all of that data he gave to Riku.”

Sora had become almost obsessed with understanding the data that DiZ had hidden in his heart, as he was convinced it had something to do with helping Roxas. At the moment, they didn’t really know how it would help, since DiZ had only given them a cryptic hint. Even Yen Sid seemed at a loss, though he almost certainly had some theories. As always, he didn’t seem inclined to share them with his pupils.

“Didn’t we already comb the place for clues, though?” Kairi asked.

“Yeah, we did,” Sora responded, “but there might still be something there. We have to keep looking, at least, in case we just missed something the first time. Even and Ienzo are still working hard in Radiant Garden, but they keep running into roadblocks. They said it’s nothing they weren’t expecting; Ansem the Wise was a very paranoid guy, and he wouldn’t make it easy to get into.”

“Well, you’re not expecting any trouble, are you? Could I tag along this time? Please say yes, I’m so bored here.” She was not above begging, not when this was the first time in nearly a month that Sora had actually come back.

“Actually, Kairi, I was hoping to have a word with you while Sora is searching the lab,” Yen Sid interjected smoothly. The bubble of excitement that had sprung up in her chest at the thought of getting out of the Tower burst rather abruptly. Sora gave her a sympathetic look, as if he knew exactly what she’d been thinking. Which, given how adept he was at reading both her and Riku, probably wasn’t too far off the mark.

“I’ll be back before too long, don’t you worry,” he promised. “This isn’t going to be a long trip, and then we can hang out for a while.”

“When you get back, you’ll spar with me, right? I haven’t fought anyone but Lea in forever, and I know all of his tricks now. Who knows, maybe I’m better than you now.” Doubtful, especially since Sora always seemed to take it easy on her, but she knew the best way to rile him up was to talk some trash.

“We’ll see.” With those words and a secretive smirk, he walked out of the study. Kairi watched him go reluctantly, then turned to face the man who was in charge of her training.

“What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Master?” Kairi asked, genuinely interested despite her disappointment at being left behind again. She hadn’t spoken to Yen Sid much outside of training, but usually it was something important when he asked specifically for her.

“Merlin has informed me that you have completely sailed through his magic lessons, and he’s sure that soon you will no longer need him. He says he has a few more things to teach you, but that will take no more than one or two more sessions.” Kairi was blown away, eyes wide in amazement; while she’d known that Merlin was pleased with her progress, she hadn’t realized just how far she’d gotten. “Furthermore,” he continued, “I am deeply impressed by how well you are doing in physical training. Speaking with Riku and Sora had left me with the impression that you might require more practice with fighting, considering that they had the added benefit of their childhood sparring.”

Kairi tried very hard not to be offended at this statement. It’s true that Riku and Sora had spent many years fighting each other and therefore had a step up on her. But it wasn’t as if she’d merely sat back and watched all that time: after all, she wasn’t going to be the only kid on the islands who didn’t fight. Wakka, Tidus and Selphie had been quite willing partners even after the boys had stopped sparring with her. She may never have the easy talent that Riku had, or the stubborn grit that Sora displayed, but she was certainly not a slacker.

“Because you have been doing so well, I believe you are almost ready to go out on your own missions. It will be difficult at first, since obviously sending you out on your own would be courting disaster; however, I think we will be able to work something out.” Yen Sid had closed his eyes and started stroking his beard like he did when he was thinking something through, so he missed Kairi’s jaw dropping to the floor. She had honestly believed that she would be carefully kept out of any real fighting since she was one of the “pure lights” that needed to be protected. For him to tell her that she would soon be out helping her boys instead of being stuck here…well, it just about blew her mind.

“You mean, you aren’t going to keep me from fighting? Even though I’m a Princess of Heart?” She couldn’t keep the waver from her voice, scared he would take it back. His eyes opened at her question and looked at her in confusion.

“Why, of course not. You are a Keyblade Wielder in your own right, and you have proven that you belong here. Besides, Xehanort’s plan involves the seven Guardians of Light fighting his thirteen Vessels of Darkness. While he could use the Princesses of Heart to form the χ-blade—and he has indeed threatened as much if we try to avoid this battle—the fight itself will accomplish his goal. He has no need of you in particular, not while we still intend to face him. Furthermore, with all you have been through, you deserve the chance to protect yourself and the rest of the residents of the Realm of Light. I have no doubt that you will do them proud.”

Her eyes watered, though she blinked the tears back fiercely. _Geez, Kairi,_ she chided herself, _can you be any more of a girl?_ She knew she was one of the weak links in the chain that had to stand between Xehanort and the destruction of all she knew, but she was grateful to know that they didn’t intend to shut her out. “Thank you, Master Yen Sid.”

“I’ve already told you, I have left that title behind me,” he dismissed, though his eyes sparkled with amusement. “Now, I believe you are done with training for the day. I will let you know when Merlin is back, and then we will discuss your first mission once more. Go and rest, while you are still able.”

Kairi bowed, knowing the gesture would further amuse the sorcerer, and then turned to leave the room. To say she was excited was an understatement. The buzzing under her skin had returned, though this time it was distinctly of the eager nature. She couldn’t wait until Sora came back.


	2. An Ominous Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora runs into Ansem and Xemnas, and he gets an idea

Sora cursed whatever whim had caused Yen Sid to add so many goddamned stairs to this Tower. With all his power, surely he could have put in an elevator or something, right? Rationally, he knew he needed the exertion, especially after being weakened so much when Xehanort had tried to use him as a vessel. But after a full month of nonstop training in Olympus Coliseum, he really just wanted to relax a little.

Finally, he reached the bottom of the Tower and walked out the door towards the large gummi ship parked on the grounds. Since Kairi had climbed straight to the study from the large training room Yen Sid had created, she hadn’t seen him arrive with Donald and Goofy. Since he’d figured that’s where she would be, he’d been planning to surprise her after he checked in with his mentor. Unfortunately, Yen Sid had wanted him to go look over the lab in Twilight Town again, which put a stop to that plan.

As he walked towards the ship, he saw Donald and Goofy walking around it, inspecting it for damage. He didn’t know why they bothered; after all, if there were any problems, it would fall to Chip and Dale to fix them. The trio was useless when it came to repairs, especially in comparison with the chipmunks. Honestly, with the way he drove, it was a miracle they let him take it anywhere in the first place.

Donald looked up from the ship as he approached. “Finally! What took you so long?” he grouched.

“You do know that I had to climb to the top of the Tower, right? And now that we’re using it as a base, it’s even bigger than normal and it keeps changing constantly. It takes a while, especially since I can’t fly everywhere anymore.” It was bad enough the first time he forgot how to Glide, but for it to happen again? It almost felt like there was some greater power that decided he should have to start over every time something big happened.

“Yeah, yeah. So, what’s the plan?”

“We have to go over to DiZ’s mansion in Twilight Town for a little while—Yen Sid wants us to check it out in case we missed anything important. Obviously, we can leave the gummi ship here.” Actually, with Kairi’s surprise attack, he’d forgotten to ask what to do with it. He certainly hoped it wouldn’t be a problem. If it was, they could worry about it later.

“Hey, did you get to see Kairi like you wanted to?” Goofy asked as he came around to Sora’s other side.

“Only for a minute. Yen Sid wanted to talk to her, and I really wanted to get this done. It looked like she’d just come from the training room.” And what a sight that had been. He’d always thought Kairi was beautiful, but seeing her sweaty and flushed from Keyblade training made his heart thump painfully in his chest. He was surprised she hadn’t said anything about his face being red while she sat on his chest, because he was sure it had been on fire. He’d nearly been on the verge of passing out, and not just because of the lack of air.

Maybe it was the fact that they’d all been separated so much for the past two years, but Sora was much more aware of Kairi and Riku in ways that he’d never been before now. He was typically pretty generous with physical affection, but recently all he wanted to do was drape himself all over both of them. Though he told himself it was just because he wanted to make sure they were real—that this was real—deep down he knew that there was something else at play. Problem was, he wasn’t sure exactly what to do about it.

Goofy’s playful nudge as his shoulder brought him back to reality. “I wonder how she’s doing,” he said. “She was already pretty scary last time we came back. Maybe now she really can kick your butt.”

Sora smiled slightly, though the lighthearted teasing reminded him that Kairi had actually requested a rematch. Truthfully, he was a little afraid she would beat him. He still hadn’t regained all the strength he’d lost, despite his extensive training with Hercules and Phil. They’d said it would take time to regain everything; there was only so much he could do at once.

“Well, let’s get this field trip over with, and you might get a chance to see how strong she is now,” he said, despite knowing that he’d probably find a reason to weasel out of the fight. It wasn’t really that he was too proud to lose to her; but fighting her might reveal just how weak he currently was. He hadn’t quite mentioned that small detail to either her or Riku, even if it was stupid and he knew it would likely come back to bite him in the ass later. For some reason, he just couldn’t bring himself to admit how weak he was to his best friends. Donald and Goofy obviously knew, since they’d been in the room when he’d spoken to Yen Sid about it. It was honestly a small miracle that they hadn’t said anything about it to the other teens, but Sora knew that his luck would run out eventually. He just hoped they weren’t too angry when they found out he’d hidden it from them. He sighed at the thought of their combined fury just as he heard the special chime that signaled the arrival of the train.

The trio climbed aboard the train that connected the Tower to Twilight Town. It was always a guessing game as to when the train would show up, but most of the time it seemed to be aware of their plans. They’d rarely had to wait long for it to appear when they needed to reach the town, though there _had_ been that one time they’d been trapped in town for three hours before it finally decided to show up. Needless to say, Donald had not been in a good mood after that. He’d refused to take the train for a week, which hadn’t been terrible until they needed to find somewhere in town to stash the gummi ship.

After a quiet few minutes, the train rolled into Central Station. It was still a good hike from there out to the Mansion, but the walk didn’t seem too long while the three friends laughed and teased each other good-naturedly. They’d certainly had plenty of practice passing the time on their adventures over the past two years, even if Donald and Sora still got into fights that were sometimes a little too heated to be fun. They were in the middle of arguing about whether Sora was ready to try some newer spells out (come on, he’d been relearning the same magic over and over again. Why couldn’t he learn some –za spells?) when they came to the gates of the mansion and were stunned to see Xemnas and Ansem standing there.

Sora stopped a few feet away from the pair and dropped into a fighting stance, though he didn’t bother to summon his Keyblade quite yet, since neither man was currently holding a weapon. He felt Donald and Goofy flank him to either side. Together, they faced off against the Heartless and the Nobody. The latter merely smirked before speaking to them.

“Well, well, Sora, to what do we owe this honor? I do hope you aren’t planning on fighting us right now; it would be a shame to have to kill you before we meet in the Keyblade Graveyard.” Despite the threat, both men seemed relaxed. Ansem was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Xemnas was a few steps in front of him, taking control of the conversation. They were both wearing the black robes of the Organization.

“What are you doing here?” Sora asked, his hands curling into fists. The last time he’d seen Xemnas had been in the World That Never Was, right before he’d been sent spiraling into darkness. It was partially due to Xemnas that he was so weak right now, and he would love the chance to return the favor.

“The real question is, what brings you three here? After all, the only things left in this run-down old house are the scattered toys of an old fool who believed himself too wise to truly fail. As you well know, he was quite wrong on that account.” Xemnas seemed to take a sick sort of pleasure at the anger that flashed across Sora’s face. “Ah, now isn’t that a familiar expression. You and Roxas really are just so much alike, though he was but a pale imitation of you in many ways.”

“Don’t you talk about Roxas like that,” Sora spat. He didn’t care that Xemnas was clearly baiting him. His hand itched with the desire to summon his Keyblade.

“Touchy, aren’t we?” He smirked again. Really, Sora just wanted to whack that smug expression right off his face. He had managed to contain himself so far, since he really did want to know what they were doing here, but he wasn’t going to be able to hold off much longer. “One might almost think you expect him to come back at any moment.”

At that, Sora couldn’t keep the surprise off his face. Even though his friends knew how much he wanted to help Roxas, they didn’t realize just how deep the obsession ran. Vague as Xemnas’s statement was, for a second it sounded almost like the man could see into his head, could see all of his half-formed ideas on bringing him back. Too late, he realized it had just been a bluff, though he saw understanding flicker in Xemnas’s eyes.

“Oh, I see,” he said softly. This was bad—he really hadn’t wanted to give that away. The less Xehanort knew of their plans, the better; even if Roxas turned out to not be one of the Guardians of Light, he could still be a big help if they could keep the element of surprise. “In that case, I have a question for you. How do you expect to bring back Roxas when he should never have existed in the first place? There is only one way to accomplish it.” Here, he paused. If Sora hadn’t been so tense, he would have rolled his eyes; Xemnas always seemed to be looking for a way to make things more dramatic. The Nobody pointed at him as he asked, “Sora, are you finally going to call upon the darkness?”

Sora’s back straightened involuntarily as an idea struck him suddenly. Though he was sure Xemnas hadn’t meant it that way, he realized abruptly that maybe the secret to bringing Roxas back had been staring him in the face. What if he gave his heart in to darkness again, like he had when he’d found out Kairi’s heart was trapped within his? After all, that’s what had led to Roxas being created in the first place—maybe it would work again. He knew from the look on Xemnas’s face that his shock had been broadcasted easily enough, though he wasn’t sure if the Nobody had managed to work out exactly what he was thinking.

“As much as I’d enjoy continuing this little chat, we have business elsewhere.” Sora jumped a little at the sound of Ansem’s remark, as he’d forgotten the man was here. He turned slightly to face Ansem as the man pushed off the wall and stepped towards Xemnas. Together, the two vanished into the one of the dark portals Xehanort’s minions liked to use. Sora was left standing with Donald and Goofy, his mind whirring with possibility. It may not be an elegant plan, but he had a plan nonetheless.


	3. Riku's Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku arrives back at the Tower after his mission in the Realm of Darkness

Groaning with fatigue, Riku set his bag down in the Tower room he’d claimed. Before his trip with Mickey to the Realm of Darkness, everyone had deemed it easier if they all just stayed at the Tower. Telling his parents about it hadn’t been an easy task, but they relented when it became clear that he was leaving no matter what they said. At least this way, they knew where he was, and he had been able to go home every so often. The last time he’d been back had been about three months ago, before his venture with Mickey into the Realm of Darkness, so they were probably expecting him soon. Then again, with everything that had happened in the past two years, they probably didn’t expect much at all anymore.

He sighed as he flopped onto the bed, which was surprisingly clean and fresh after three months away. It was most likely thanks to Yen Sid and his magic, since that’s what maintained almost everything here, but it was nice to know that it caught the little things. He’d have to remember to thank him the next time they spoke, since Riku had already reported in.

Yen Sid had been pleased with how well the Keyblade armor he’d given them had worked. He said he had been working on making the armor since hearing that Aqua was trapped in the Realm of Darkness. He’d been forced to work from memory to create it, and it had been a long time since he’d had his own set of armor. Mickey’s had been the first set he finished, and he’d been working on both Sora’s and Riku’s before the Mark of Mastery exam. Since Riku had been the only one who’d passed, Yen Sid had prioritized his armor, so that the mission to retrieve Master Aqua could begin. Sora’s was nearing completion, and both Kairi’s and Lea’s were well under way. They should all be fully armored up by the final battle with Xehanort.

Except, Riku frowned, for Aqua, who had lost her armor before being trapped in the Darkness. She didn’t even really have her own Keyblade anymore—she’d been using the one that belonged to her former master. He just hoped they could figure something out to help her, even though she’d been doing just fine so far. After all, she was still a fierce magic wielder who put the rest of them to shame. Just then, a very insistent set of knocks on his door disrupted his thoughts. He didn’t bother moving, figuring that whoever it was could wait while he took a well-deserved nap. The knocking didn’t stop, however.

“Riku! You’d better unlock this door right now, or else I’m going to do it myself.” Kairi obviously knew he was back. _Well, shit_. Judging by the tone of her voice, she wasn’t going to forgive him any time soon for not coming to find her first.

“Alright, I’m coming.” He dragged himself off the bed and started towards the door. “Don’t you dare kick that door in again, unless you want to be the one to tell Yen Sid about it this time.” Though Riku hadn’t explained exactly what happened to the sorcerer, he was not willing to face that expression of subtle disapproval again, not even for his two best friends.

As he opened the door, he got a face full of auburn hair as Kairi threw herself at him. Though his aching muscles protested the effort, he managed to remain standing, returning her fierce hug with one of his own. After Kairi was thoroughly assured that he was still here in one piece, she released him and smiled winningly at him. “It was Sora who kicked down your door last time, don’t you remember?”

“Sure I do,” he chuckled, “just like I remember that you’re the one who gave him the idea in the first place.”

“Oh come on, what else were we supposed to do? It sounded like you were in trouble,” she responded as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. That was fair—he’d been having a horribly vivid nightmare that night, and he’d apparently been making some distressed sounds. Sora and Kairi had insisted on having rooms that were next to his, so they’d heard him and come running. Since he wasn’t responding to their calls, Kairi had talked Sora into kicking his bedroom door down. The crash had startled him awake and he found the two of them grinning sheepishly at him. They’d all tried to fix the door on their own, but that had proved more difficult than they thought. In the end, he’d had to go and tell Yen Sid, who then fixed the door quite easily.

Luckily, everyone had been too preoccupied with the broken door to spend too much time wondering what Riku had been dreaming about. Ever since Xehanort had tried to turn Sora into one of his vessels, Riku had dreams where Lea hadn’t shown up in time and he’d had to watch helplessly as Xehanort took over his friend. When Kairi started training in the Tower—before he and King Mickey had left to find Aqua—his nightmares had expanded to include her, her eyes vacant and expressionless as they’d been during the time she’d lost her heart. Seeing them hurt left him breathless with fear, even if he knew it was only a dream. The situation wasn’t helped by the fact that he definitely cared about them as more than friends. He’d found a way to mostly ignore it over the years since he first realized it, but his control had been thoroughly shredded by the disastrous Mark of Mastery exam.

The sight of Kairi settling herself onto his bed definitely was not helping with that control, either. Riku averted his eyes, trying to appear nonchalant. “So how were things while I was gone?”

“Incredibly boring, actually. You, King Mickey, Sora, Donald and Goofy were all gone, for the most part, so I’ve been doing a lot of solo practice and working on magic. Merlin says I’ve actually passed both you and Sora, though, so there’s that.” She was clearly proud of that last statement, and he was inclined to agree with her. That was quite the feat to have accomplished while he was gone, although he really should have expected it. She had never been happy with being left out, and she was obviously relishing in being better than them at something.

Something she’d said struck him as strange, though. “Sora was gone the whole time? Why wasn’t he training here with you?” _And why didn’t Yen Sid tell me about that when I checked in earlier_ , he wondered silently.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. He just said that Yen Sid wanted him to go to the Coliseum. He came back a few times, but never for too long. He’s back now, though; he just went to Twilight Town to check out DiZ’s lab. He’s actually due back here any minute, if you want to go wait for the train with me.”

He groaned. “You know that train runs on its own schedule, right? It could be hours before it decides to roll in.”

“So…is that a no?”

“You know I’m coming with you, don’t rub it in.”

She gave him a smug grin in response. “Well then, let’s go.” With that, she pushed herself off the bed and sauntered towards the door. He sighed, then moved to follow her, knowing from experience that she would leave him behind if he didn’t move fast enough.

The train almost always appeared in the same spot on the grounds of the Tower, so they’d taken to calling it the “station”. Though Yen Sid had merely twitched his lips the first time he heard the nickname, a simple overhang with a small bench under it had appeared at the spot shortly afterward. The small change had only served to solidify the moniker.

As the pair walked through the Tower, Riku found it easier to settle into the friendly intimacy he usually shared with his two closest friends.

“So, enough about my boring stay here. How did your mission with Mickey go? Did you guys bring back Master Aqua? Where are they, anyway? I didn’t see them at all—”

“Whoa, slow down Kai. I can only answer one question at a time.” He reached over and ruffled her hair just because he knew she hated it. Predictably, she scowled and smacked his hand. “Yeah, it went fine. We were able to find Aqua, though it took a little longer than we’d thought. She and Mickey aren’t here right now; she wasn’t really ready to dive right in. She’s still going to help us stop Xehanort but…she needs to figure out how to live in the Light again. She spent 12 years in the Darkness, after all.”

Kairi paused for a minute to consider that. “I guess that makes sense. That’s a long time to be stuck in the Dark, especially when you don’t think you’re ever getting out. You and Sora couldn’t have been there for more than a day, and yet you guys looked like shit when you got back. I’m amazed you two were able to drag your sorry butts out of the water that day.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. We’d just finished fighting Xemnas and I was hurt. What more did you want from us?” he asked, voice defensive. Belatedly, he saw that she was watching him eagerly, waiting for his reaction; she’d been intentionally provoking him. “Oh, you little shit. I’m going to make you regret saying that.”

“That’s what you always say, but you haven’t actually done anything yet. And really, your empty threats leave a lot to be desired. For a big, tough Keyblade Master, you’re really shit at being intimidating.”

“Why should I worry about being intimidating when I’ve got you? Kairi, Princess of Heart, Keyblade Wielder, magic prodigy—I might even be scared, if I hadn’t known you since you were a little gremlin. Then again, it’s not like you’ve grown that much since then…” He held his hand straight out over her head, to demonstrate how much taller he was.

She batted at his hand ineffectually. “Hey, just because you’re a freak of nature doesn’t mean we can all be. Besides, I’ll tell you what I told Lea: just because I’m shorter than you doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass. It just means you won’t see me coming before I topple you.”

“I think you mean, _if_ you can topple me.” Just as he said that, though, he felt a slight tugging around his ankle. Since he’d been attempting to take a step forward with that leg, he lost his balance and fell to the ground. Immediately, Kairi cackled from above him. “You know that it’s cheating if we’re not even sparring yet, right?” he asked with a sour expression on his face.

“I think it’s just called getting a head start, actually.” Her laughter ended when they heard the telltale chime of the train, and she reached down to help Riku back to his feet. They were already close to the station, so they didn’t have to rush too much, but they still wanted to be there when Sora got off.

As the train doors opened, they noticed Sora standing back just a little with an unusually pensive expression. Normally, he was playfully nudging Donald and Goofy around to see who would be the first off the train, so Riku and Kairi shared a quick look of surprise at their friend’s odd behavior. However, his face lit up with a blinding smile the second he saw them standing there. Riku firmly ignored the way his heart fluttered at the sight.

“Riku! You’re back!” he shouted, pushing Donald out of the way to jump off the train. Judging by Donald’s angry squawk, the duck was decidedly unhappy about it, but Sora ignored him. He threw one arm around Riku’s neck and the other around Kairi’s, hugging them close to his chest.

“Sora, you already saw me, there’s no need to smother me to death,” Kairi grumbled against his jacket.

“Yeah, and you tackled me in Yen Sid’s study. Consider this payback,” he replied, making no move to release either of them.

“Geez, Kairi, why the violence? First you tackle Sora, then you trip me up. Are you trying to tell us something?” He wasn’t entirely surprised to hear how she’d greeted the other boy; the three of them had always been somewhat rough with each other, though the heavier roughhousing had subsided as they got older. He knew she’d never been happy about the boys trying to be gentler with her, but he’d thought she had decided to let it go. Apparently, he’d been wrong.

“Just that it’s high time at least one of you agrees to fight me. I’ve been stuck on my own for so long, I’ve almost forgotten how to fight properly. And you’re not allowed to take it easy on me like you’ve been doing, Sora,” she said sternly. Riku shot a sideways glance at Sora, who was wearing a chagrined smile. Honestly, he was shocked Kairi had let him treat her with kid gloves for this long.

Deciding to rescue the younger boy, he said, “Alright, I’ll take you on, pipsqueak. This way I’ll get revenge for that earlier stunt of yours.” He thought he saw relief play across Sora’s face, but it was gone in the next second. Maybe he’d just imagined it—he certainly couldn’t think of a good reason why Sora would be glad to get out of sparring.


	4. A Terrible Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora tells Kairi and Riku his idea to bring back Roxas

A few hours later, Kairi flopped to the floor of the training room, thoroughly exhausted. “Enough, I give up. You’re still too good for me, oh mighty Keyblade Master.”

Riku sat down next to her, much more dignified in his movement. “I don’t know why you’re so hard on yourself, you did a great job. You almost had me a couple times.”

She glared up at him and said, “’Almost’ being the key word there. You still mopped the floor with me.”

Sora, who’d been watching from a safe distance, came close enough to join in the conversation easily. “I don’t know, Kairi. Riku might have had the advantage in physical power, but your magic was incredible. He was just barely keeping up with that, even with his Dark Powers.” She smiled slightly at the name they’d given to the magic techniques Riku tended to use. He hated it, so they obviously used it whenever they could. In fact, she could see him frowning about it right now. She giggled, which only caused his frown to deepen.

“Yeah, I guess that wasn’t too bad. That Aero spell almost knocked you into next week.”

Riku grimaced, rubbing the spot on his back where he’d hit the wall. “No kidding, I’m going to have a serious bruise there. Tell me again why you felt the need to throw me into oblivion, please. I think I’m still a little fuzzy on that bit.”

Sitting up, she said, “I’m actually a little sorry for that one. I didn’t really mean to use that much force. I guess I’m so used to beating up on furniture that I forgot people bruise much easier. I can cast a Cure spell, if you’d like: I’ve still got enough magic left in me for that.”

“Actually, that’s not a bad—”

“I can take care of it, Kai. I’m the one who was sitting out the fight, anyway,” Sora interrupted. He quickly cast a Cure spell on both of them before they could say anything else. She felt the spell sink into her skin, bringing sweet relief from her aches and pains. She saw Riku perk up just a little, and knew the spell had been just as helpful for him.

“Thanks, Sora, but I really could have done it,” she said.

He smiled at her. “You know you don’t have to do everything, right? I may not be quite as proficient as you, but I can still do magic well enough. Besides, it’s nice to know that I’m still useful here,” he teased.

“Alright, fair enough,” she agreed, though his tone seemed just a little less playful on that last part. The younger boy reached a hand down to each of them and helped them stand at the same time. “So, now what? We don’t have any missions at the moment, and you already reported back to Yen Sid about the lab, right, Sora?”

“Yeah, I did. We didn’t find anything new, but then we really didn’t expect to. Nothing interesting there.” Though his words indicated the topic was done, Kairi knew him well enough to tell that he was hiding something. He had never been good at lying, especially to the two of them, and right now it showed.

“Sora, did something happen? I know there’s something you’re not telling us,” Riku said, clearly thinking the same thing. She wasn’t sure exactly what she expected Sora to say, but she definitely didn't expect his next words.

“I…might have run into Xemnas and Ansem in Twilight Town,” he said, huffing out a breath. She gasped, and she could hear Riku’s sharp intake of breath next to her.

“What happened? And why didn’t you tell us about it?” There was a hint of ire in Riku’s voice, though she knew it was mostly directed at the two villains. None of their encounters had been pleasant experiences, so for Sora to have kept this from them…she didn’t like it. Neither did Riku, from the sound of it.

Sora seemed to have noticed their unhappiness, because his expression was suddenly alarmed. “Nothing happened, I swear! They were just outside the Mansion, and we talked for a minute. That’s it.”

“Xemnas doesn’t just talk, not unless there’s something in it for him. What did he want?” He was still hesitating, and Kairi wanted to know why.

Seeing that he wasn’t getting out of this easily, Sora sighed. “He didn’t say what he was trying to do, he just started talking shit about Roxas. Ansem dragged him off before he could say much else.”

“Then why didn’t you tell us earlier? Why keep it quiet?” Riku seemed as confused as Kairi was. She’d known that Roxas was a particularly sore point for Sora, since he felt responsible for the other boy’s absence. Still, she didn’t see why a few nasty words would have kept him from telling them about the conversation.

“Because something he said got me thinking, and I wasn’t really sure how to approach it,” he admitted.

“Oh no, Sora’s thinking? We’re all in trouble.” She was aiming for a teasing tone, even though something about the whole situation set her on edge. Judging by Sora’s weak smile, he knew what she was going for but couldn’t muster up his usual enthusiasm. Riku stood as composed as always, but his eyes showed his concern.

“So, you know how we’ve been talking about bringing Roxas back, right? Well, something Xemnas said gave me an idea: what if we repeat the events that created him in the first place? DiZ said that when I gave my heart up in Hollow Bastion, Roxas was born. And since you were able to bring my heart back, Roxas was able to continue existing at the same time I was. If we did that again, maybe we could bring Roxas back for good this time.”

“Are you kidding? Sora, that’s a horrible plan!” Kairi turned to face Riku at his outburst. While she didn’t entirely disagree with him, shouting wasn’t going to accomplish much.

“Well, we have to do something! And it’s not _that_ terrible of an idea!” Sora was getting defensive now.

“Did you miss the part where you have to give your heart up again?” Riku demanded.

“So what? Kairi can bring me back like she did before,” Sora snapped. She knew she needed to step in now, before this went any further.

“Sora, hold on. How are you so sure this will work? We don’t know if I can bring you back a second time, not to mention that it might not even bring Roxas back in the first place. You might be sacrificing yourself for nothing,” she said, pulling out her best placating tone. Since they’d proved several times over that they were equally matched in stubbornness, she’d defused enough arguments to know how to talk the boys down.

“Why are you so sure it won’t work? We have no other leads, we should at least think about it!” Then again, sometimes there simply was no reasoning with Sora. He’d been a little distant lately, and the passion in his voice made her think that she’d underestimated how preoccupied he was with getting Roxas back.

“You can’t seriously be asking us to help you with this.” The disbelief in Riku’s voice only seemed to incense Sora further.

“I need your help; I can’t do this on my own. If I have both of you here, it should be enough to call my heart back a second time. Not to mention that I’ll need that Keyblade again, the one you used when—”

“When Ansem possessed me, and I tried to kill you, you mean.” Riku’s voice had gone flat, a sure sign that he was trying to hide how hurt he was. He thought he was subtle, but Kairi hadn’t known him this long without being able to read him like a book.

Sora, as clueless as everyone thought him to be, had the same knowledge of their friend that she did; his demeanor changed as he came to the same conclusion about Riku. His eyes widened and he went from confrontational to apologetic in the matter of a second. “That’s not what I going to say—”

Again, Riku interrupted him. “But that’s what you meant. That’s what happened the last time you lost your heart. No point in dancing around it.” Though his tone was still unnervingly even, they could both see the tight line of his jaw. Before he said anything else, however, Donald and Goofy came running into the training room.

“Sora, Riku, Kairi, Yen Sid needs to see you,” Goofy said. They both came to a sudden stop when they saw the trio, however, glancing between them nervously as they read the tension in the room. “Uhh…are we interrupting something?”

Kairi pasted a grin on her face, hoping it looked pleasant rather than demented. “Alright, we’ll head right up. Thanks for letting us know,” she responded. Donald and Goofy looked at each other and then excused themselves from the room as quickly as they could. She turned to the boys, who had obviously been trying to project the same air of calm she had.

“Can we at least agree to put this argument on hold for now? All of us want to get Roxas back, Sora,” she said when he opened his mouth. “But we need to look for a way that doesn’t involve putting you at unnecessary risk for it.”

Sora closed his mouth, looking first at Kairi and then at Riku, and nodded reluctantly. She looked at Riku, who gave a short jerk of his head that she was taking for a nod. The boys both walked silently towards the stairs to the study, and she gave a resigned sigh as she moved to follow them. Though she might love these boys, sometimes they were a real pain in her ass.


	5. In the Keyblade Graveyard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yen Sid sends the trio to the Keyblade Graveyard, where they run into some familiar faces.

“You want us to go where?” Maybe Sora was still out of sorts from the argument he’d accidentally started downstairs, but it sounded like Yen Sid had said—

“The Keyblade Graveyard. I’m aware that we have been avoiding it this far, but as Xehanort is still short one Vessel, I am confident that you will not be putting yourselves in too great a danger,” Yen Sid said calmly. Okay, so he hadn’t imagined that.

“What if you’re wrong about Xehanort still being down one body?” Riku asked. Though he asked the question respectfully enough, his unnaturally even tone told Sora that he was still angry.

“Even if he has managed to find his last vessel, there is still the matter of his ultimate goal: the χ-blade. If he harms even one of you, he jeopardizes the battle he has orchestrated to create it. It is unlikely he would take that risk.” Unlikely, but considering that Xehanort was definitely on the crazy side, it wasn’t out of the question. Still, they did need to try to thwart his plans where they could.

Sora squared his shoulders and asked, “So what’s happening in the Keyblade Graveyard?”

“Braig and Isa were seen there, and it looks like they are up to something nefarious. You three should be able to find out what that is.” As Yen Sid spoke, Sora dared a glance at the other two. He had been a little surprised when Yen Sid told them he had a mission for all of them, considering that this would be Kairi’s first. But he had to admit that it made sense to pair her with Riku, since he was a Keyblade Master. Sora clearly provided the number advantage in case things went poorly. And despite his misgivings and the tension that still hung over the three friends, he was a little bit excited to finally go on an adventure with them.

“Well, I guess we’d better get going. The gummi ship should still be out front,” he said cheerfully in an attempt to thaw the chilly atmosphere. It seemed to work a little, as Kairi gave him a small smile. Riku’s jaw seemed a slightly less tense as well, so he was counting that as a win.

He hadn’t realized quite how much trouble he’d have trying to explain his idea to his two friends. It wasn’t foolproof, sure, but it least he’d be doing something. Roxas deserved to be his own person with his own body, and it was up to Sora to make sure that happened. The other two seemed to be convinced it wouldn’t work, but he didn’t really understand why. If it had worked the first time, surely it would work again. And he trusted that his bond with Riku and Kairi was strong enough to call his heart back from the darkness. Even if they weren’t talking to him much at the moment.

The three walked silently out to the gummi ship, still parked on the grass outside the Tower. It wasn’t until they lifted off that Kairi finally spoke.

“So, which ones are Braig and Isa?” He’d forgotten that she wouldn’t immediately recognize those names. She’d only met them as their Nobody counterparts, and only briefly at that.

“Isa is the one with the long blue hair. His Nobody Saïx is the one who kept watch on you, when you were in the Castle That Never Was. Braig is the one with the eye-patch and the two guns,” Riku answered. When Sora chanced a look over at him, he saw that the older boy’s posture had relaxed.

“Braig’s an asshole, and he really likes the sound of his own voice. He’s almost as cryptic as Xemnas most of the time,” Sora added. Realizing Sora was watching him, Riku looked over with an apology in his eyes. So at least he wasn’t still _that_ pissed off.

For all the fights and arguments they’d gotten into when they were younger, it had been a long time since Riku had been truly angry with him. They had both had flares of temper; after all, they were teenagers. And they were both too stubborn for their own good, which had sometimes turned minor things into full-blown arguments. Kairi had turned out to be a pretty good mediator, though, and the boys had learned to compromise on most things. Riku was naturally a quick-witted smartass, and the other two had learned how to turn it right back on him. Up until shortly before the islands fell to darkness, their banter was lighthearted and fun.

Gradually, Riku’s comments grew more pointed and harsh, almost to the point of cruelty. Sora had felt like Riku was pushing them both away, and while he loved spending time with Kairi, it didn’t feel right without all three of them. Now, they knew Ansem had been manipulating him into opening the door to the heart of Destiny Islands. And after the door was open, Maleficent swooped in to help Ansem continue his manipulation and Riku became downright antagonistic up through that final confrontation.

Since their reunion in the World That Never Was, though, he’d been almost back to normal. Sora actually felt bad about yelling at him, even if he was frustrated that they weren’t giving him a chance to really explain his idea. Still, right now wasn’t the time to be worrying about that; they had a mission to carry out.

Since none of them had actually been there before, Yen Sid had given them directions on how to find the Keyblade Graveyard. As it was her first mission, Sora had kindly yielded the driver’s seat to Kairi, though he was deeply regretting it right now. Turns out the space surrounding the Graveyard was on par with some of the trickiest gummi routes he’d seen, and he lurched in his seat as they narrowly missed another asteroid. Kairi’s face was screwed up in concentration, and he didn’t have the heart to tell her that her death grip on the controls was ruining her reaction time. So, he tightened his grip on the armrests and gritted his teeth.

After a few more close calls, they finally landed on the barren world. They climbed down quickly from the ship, and Sora nearly fell to his knees to kiss the solid ground. Even Riku looked happy to be out of the ship—he’d gone a bit green near the end, though he’d remained stoically silent. The three shared a determined look, and in unison summoned their Keyblades. They didn’t quite know what to expect, but it was better to be prepared. As they walked around, Sora wondered what this place might have looked like before the catastrophic battle that had taken place here. Something about it seemed almost familiar, though he couldn’t really place it. He quickly dismissed the thought since there was no way he’d been here before now. Though it still nagged at the corner of his mind, it didn’t distract him from Kairi freezing suddenly.

“Look! Over there,” she said as she pointed to an outcropping of rock to her left. When he looked over, he spotted two tall figures in black cloaks. Their heads were bowed close together in conversation. Riku nodded at her, and then gently took the lead. Since there wasn’t any way they could sneak up on the two, considering the empty landscape, they had to take the straightforward route. As they got closer, the two figures straightened to full height and pushed down the hoods they’d been wearing.

“Oh goody, now there’s three little troublemakers. I guess you three are here to keep an eye on us, right?” Braig smirked as he spoke. Sora really hated when he made that face; it was downright infuriating. He didn’t bother responding, and neither did Riku or Kairi. Instead, they sank into their individual fighting stances, unwilling to believe that they’d get out of this peacefully.

“I certainly hope you aren’t actually planning on getting in my way; I’ve got better things to do than babysit some little heroes,” he continued, lifting one of his guns up and resting it casually on his shoulder. Sora flinched a little, since he hadn’t seen the villain summon his weapons. Next to him, Isa was standing without his claymore, but clearly anticipating a fight.

Before anyone else could move, though, Sora noticed a dark spot behind Braig’s shoulder. He hadn’t noticed it until Braig shifted, but now he could see tendrils of darkness pouring from it. They pooled on the ground before coiling sinuously upward.

“What in the hell is that?” Riku shouted. Braig turned his head, and he looked surprised for just a moment before moving out of the way as the strange swirls of darkness coalesced into a boy around Sora’s height, wearing a completely opaque mask. The part that was most confusing, though, was the fact that he was holding what was clearly a Keyblade. As his form solidified, he lifted the Keyblade over his head, looking like he intended to join in the fight _. So much for the number advantage_ , Sora thought as he glanced briefly over at Kairi. Though she had been training for this for a while, it was still her first real battle and he didn’t like the unknown element of this new enemy. He was so focused on Kairi that he missed the moment when the strange boy leaped towards them suddenly, his Keyblade whistling through the air.

Though Riku was unquestionably closer, the boy went straight for Kairi. Her eyes widened as he bore down on her, though she tightened her grip on her Keyblade in determination. She brought it up just as the boy reached her and warded off a savage blow that he'd aimed at her head.

Immediately, Braig and Isa stepped forward as well, the clash of Keyblades serving as a signal to attack. Braig went for Riku, and Sora blocked a crashing blow from Isa’s claymore. Weapons still crossed, Sora glared at Isa’s impassive face. When they broke apart, the landscape became a whirlwind of clashes with the occasional burst of magic whizzing across the battlefield. Sora felt sweat start to collect on his forehead as he nimbly dodged and countered Isa’s attacks. As Saïx, he’d already been a formidable opponent; now, with the added power of Xehanort’s dark magic, he was incredible in his ferocity. His claymore hit harder than before, and Sora only hoped to end the fight before he went Berserk. Still, he was keeping up fairly well, and even managed to get in a blow that made Isa stumble backwards. Taking advantage of the brief respite as his opponent gathered himself, Sora spared a look in the direction of his two friends. Riku and Braig were teleporting around the rocky ground, locked in an almost elegant dance. It was mesmerizing, but before Sora could get too lost in it, he heard a cry from his other side. He turned to see the strange boy knock Kairi to the ground.

Her weapon fell out of her hand as she fell and landed a few feet away, and the boy advanced menacingly as she scrambled to grab it again. Before he realized he was doing it, Sora was running over to her, firing spells to try to catch the other boy’s attention. At first, the boy simply ignored it, shrugging off everything that was shot at him. Finally, getting frustrated, Sora fired on last Aero spell. As the spell hit him between the shoulder blades, the strange boy paused and turned to Sora. Sora’s chest gave a strange lurch when the boy was fully facing him, and he was struck with the strangest sense of déjà vu. He didn’t get long to wonder at the sensation, however, as the boy leaped toward him with renewed vigor. He swung his Keyblade hard and fast, and as he blocked the first hit, Sora got the sinking feeling that he was at a serious disadvantage.

Sora’s awareness of the other fights faded away as he focused on keeping up with this new foe. If he’d thought Isa was intense, this guy gave new meaning to the word. He was relentless as he rained down attacks so fast that it was all Sora could do to avoid them. Still, he couldn’t dodge everything, and the attacks that landed were seriously painful. If he’d been at his strongest—as he’d been before the Mark of Mastery exam—he might have stood a chance. However, in his current weakened state, he wasn’t going to be able to keep up for much longer.

The boy kept up his assault, and Sora was left rolling around to evade him. The few times he tried to get a hit in, his opponent managed to teleport away and he had to turn to counter a blow from above. He was slowing, though, and it only took a few minutes before he was too slow to counter. He caught the blow full in the back, and hit the ground in front of him hard. Stars burst across his vision, and he felt the air whoosh out of his body. With pain radiating from his chest, he looked down to see that that he’d landed on a large rock and rolled painfully off of it. The movement saved him not a second later, as he caught the other boy’s Keyblade with his own instead of getting another shot to his unprotected back. Both weapons locked, and he had to push upwards to keep the other Keyblade from hitting his chest despite the terrible pain that the action caused. If he hadn’t been concentrating so hard, he would have thrown up.

Sora stared at the mask that covered the boy’s face, again struck with the sense that he recognized him. He strained to keep his weapon in front of his body as they struggled for a minute, though his opponent’s Keyblade slowly moved downward towards his heart. As he wondered why the boy seemed so determined to complete the motion, he saw Braig and Isa appear above them both. Braig smirked down at him one last time before grabbing the mysterious boy’s shoulder and the three disappeared into a whorl of darkness, leaving Sora panting alone on the ground. He heard Kairi and Riku walk over, and he sat up painfully when they got close enough. Without a word, Riku reached out a hand. Sora took the offer, grabbing his hand and using it to haul himself carefully upright. He gave the other two a tired look before turning back the way they came. Kairi and Riku followed him back to the gummi ship, and the three took off to report to Yen Sid.


	6. A Trip Down Memory Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio clean up after their fight with Vanitas and the others, and have an important heart-to-heart

“His name is Vanitas. He caused quite a bit of trouble around 12 years ago, but I had rather thought he’d been defeated,” Yen Sid said calmly.

As deferential as Riku usually was, he had to strongly resist the urge to roll his eyes. _At this point_ , he thought to himself, _I’d think we’d be expecting all our former enemies to come back to life_.

“Well, clearly he’s still around, so what are we going to do about him?” Kairi’s words were clipped short with repressed anger. He hadn’t quite figured out where that anger was directed, as she’d refused to speak the entire way back. Oddly enough, Sora had been quiet as well, other than asking Riku to take the wheel. Between the two of them, it had been a long ride home. He’d never been the talkative type, but the silence had made even him uncomfortable.

“I do not yet know what Xehanort plans to do with him, but I can say that based on what you’ve told me, it is unlikely that Vanitas is much more than a phantom, a mere manifestation of will and anger; he is less material than even the Heartless. Though I admit that his possession of the Remnant disturbs me, Xehanort still needs something more substantial to serve as a vessel. I doubt Vanitas fulfills that requirement in his current form.”

“So we aren’t going to do anything about it?” Sora asked incredulously. Riku couldn’t say that he disagreed; were they really going to just stand by and do nothing?

“Not presently, no. There is not much we could do, even if we tried. We will, of course, continue to prepare for the battle we will ultimately have to fight. But for now, the Vanitas Remnant is out of our reach.” Yen Sid’s tone allowed for no argument, so while he was unhappy about it, Riku knew there wasn’t anything he could do.

The other two drooped perceptively as they obviously came to the same conclusion. They had always been the type to prefer action to discussion, Sora more so than Kairi. However, they were out of luck in this case; all they could do is wait.

He ushered the other two out of the study, since the sorcerer was clearly done with them for the moment. As the three walked down the stairs, he tried to assess the two younger teens without them noticing. Kairi had a few minor scratches as well as a nasty scrape on her elbow from her fall right before Sora had stepped in. Riku imagined he looked much the same; though his fight with Braig had certainly looked intense, they hadn’t landed many attacks on each other. Sora, on the other hand, had obviously taken the brunt of the injuries. He was covered in deep cuts and developing bruises, which spanned most of the visible skin on his arms and face. There were even a few on his legs. He didn’t seem to notice them for the most part, though his face was pretty pale behind the blood smeared all over it. A Cure spell would likely fix most of the damage, though they’d have to clean him up to be sure. He also seemed to be moving rather gingerly, so Riku resolved to keep an eye on him for a little while.

Reaching a landing about halfway down the Tower, the three turned towards a room they had repurposed a few months back into a sort of retreat for when they weren't training. As they neared the room, Kairi turned to look at Riku. Seeing where his gaze was focused, she shifted to look at the other boy. Based on her frown, she was doing her own assessment and had come to a similar conclusion as Riku. Sora, still oblivious to their attention, stepped into the room first and dropped onto one of the couches there. Though he tried to hide it, he gave a wince as he hit the cushions.

Riku walked into the room and headed straight towards the large storage closet on the far wall. Before he’d gone with the King, they’d spent quite a bit of time in this little den they’d created. The room had already had several rows of full bookcases when they’d stumbled across it, and after they talked to Yen Sid, he’d summoned several couches, a table with a few chairs, and even a limited kitchen for it. They’d also started keeping some supplies in the walk-in closet, and the small first-aid kit here was what Riku was after. Given that they could heal themselves with a single spell, there were only so many bandages they needed. Still, it came in handy on occasion. Everyone was pretty spent after the intense fighting, and some of the cuts on Sora looked too deep to heal up quickly.

When Riku walked out into the room, Sora looked over at him. His eyes widened when he saw what the elder boy was carrying.

“Oh hey, good idea Riku. You can take a look at Kairi first, since she was fighting that weird guy, Van-whatever,” Sora said quickly, gesturing to the girl who’d taken a seat on the couch opposite his.

In response, she crossed her arms and glared at both of them. “Don’t you even dare, Riku. Sora fought with Vanitas, too, and he’s clearly in worse shape than I am.” Riku nodded, though he hadn’t needed her to tell him to look at their friend first.

Sora tried deflecting, saying, “Nah, it looks worse than it actually feels. I’m totally fine—”

“No, you’re not,” Riku interrupted before he could get any further. “Please, just let us get you cleaned up.” He didn’t know exactly why Sora was acting so weird about this; in fact, he’d been acting weird for a while, but Riku had managed to forget about it while he was with Mickey. It was almost like Sora felt he had to be okay all the time, even when he clearly wasn’t. Riku hadn’t found a good way to confront him about it, and until now, it hadn’t presented that much of a problem. Evidently, it was more of an issue than he’d thought.

He sat down next to a still-protesting Sora and opened the first-aid kit. As he rummaged through it, he realized he hadn’t brought any water over to help clean everyone up. Luckily, Kairi seemed to realize the same thing, since she gave an amused snort before getting up and walking over to the kitchen. She got a bowl out from under the sink, filled it with water, and then walked back to the couch where both boys sat. She set the bowl on the short table and sat down on Sora’s other side.

“Thanks, Kai,” Riku said as he dipped a clean cloth into the bowl. She gave him a tired smile before reaching over to grab a cloth of her own. Sora continued his protests as they started wiping the blood off his arms.

“Hey guys, this is unnecessary, really—ow!” Sora’s words cut out with a groan when Kairi pressed a little too hard on what was obviously a sore spot. Riku glanced over to see a much-too-innocent look on her face as she apologized. A smirk threatened to take over his face, but he struggled to hide it when Sora turned to him, eyes narrowed. Judging by the affronted pout on the other boy’s face, he hadn’t done a very good job.

Together, Riku and Kairi managed to clean up Sora’s arms, inspecting the wounds as they went. As he’d suspected, most of them would be fine with either a Cure spell or a few Potions, though one or two were nasty enough to warrant a bandage. After a few minutes, Sora even stopped fighting them, sensing that it wasn’t doing him any good. While Riku bandaged the cuts that needed it, Kairi cleaned Sora’s face with unusual force, drawing a few outbursts of pain from him.

“You know, Kai—ow—I can take it—ouch—from here,” Sora suggested while she was attacking his face. With a huff, she dropped her cloth into his outstretched hand and retreated to the opposite couch. Riku looked up from his task, confused by her reaction. While it wasn’t entirely unusual for either of them to get fed up with Sora’s stubbornness, she didn’t often seem so annoyed by it. She was probably still just as angry as she’d been in the gummi ship, though he didn’t get a chance to ask why before she finally snapped.

“You didn’t have to step in, back at the Graveyard. I would have been fine.” Her arms were crossed as she glared at Sora. Clearly shocked, he froze for a second before replying.

“Kai, he had you on the ground without your Keyblade. And he was clearly not playing around,” he said solemnly.

“I have magic that I can use, magic that doesn’t require my Keyblade. I was doing okay before you stepped in. Maybe even better than you, considering you’re more beat up that I am.” Actually, she had a good point there—he hadn’t been able to pay much attention to the other fights, but it was clear that Sora had nearly gotten his ass handed to him. The way he seemed to be getting defensive now, he knew it as well.

“That’s not fair. I was fighting him for longer, and he just caught me off guard.”

“Well, you didn’t need to fight him at all. I’m not helpless, though you guys seem to think that I am.” Riku should really step in, since they were getting pretty close to full-blown yelling, but the words just wouldn’t come. Kairi had always been the mediator, not him.

“I don’t think you’re helpless, and neither does Riku.”

“Clearly, you do. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have butted in when I could have taken care of it. I can fight just as well as you two can, even though you don’t seem to want to believe it,” Kairi shouted. She was growing increasingly agitated as she spoke. “Maybe if you guys hadn’t decided you were too good to spar with me when we were younger, you’d see that I know what I’m doing.” Based on the way panic flashed across her face, she hadn’t meant to say that last part.

“But…that’s not…why would you…” Sora’s sputtering trailed off and he looked beseechingly at Riku. Apparently, he was going to take over the conversation whether he was ready or not.

“Kai, we didn’t think we were better than you. Why do you think that?” he asked gently.

“Why else would you two refuse to fight with me? Sora still fought some of the others on occasion, and you did the same, but for the most part, you only fought with each other. And you definitely didn’t spar with me.” She’d calmed down slightly, but she was definitely still upset.

Shit, he didn’t even realize how it might have looked to her when they stopped practicing with her as kids. “Alright, I admit that it doesn’t look great. But we didn’t stop fighting with you because we thought we were too good for you.” Since she looked skeptical, he gave a quiet sigh before asking, “Do you remember the last time you fought with Sora, about eight years ago?”

“Yeah, of course I do. Sora accidentally broke his wooden sword and he was devastated. But I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“I didn’t care about the sword, Kai. That’s not why I was upset,” Sora said softly. His face was flushed with misery. “You remember the sword breaking, but do you remember what happened right after that?”

Kairi’s face screwed up in concentration as she thought for a moment. When she shook her head, Sora frowned briefly before he spoke again.

“We were fighting near that grove of coconut trees on the cove side of the island. At one point, we got too close to the trees and when I swung my sword, I hit one of them, which splintered the sword. For a second, you just laughed at me while I looked at the broken piece of wood in my hand. Then, one of the coconuts from that tree fell on your head, and I watched as you dropped straight to the ground.” Her eyes were wide and her jaw had fallen open; she really didn’t remember it at all. “Riku came running and you got up after a minute, but I was terrified during that minute. You seemed really out of it, though, and when you didn’t remember what had happened, I started panicking. We took you back to the main island and Riku told your parents what happened. They understood that it had been an accident and they were really nice about it, saying that they’d keep an eye on you and not to worry. But the fact was, I hurt you. After that, I…I didn’t really want to spar with anyone, for a while.” He looked down at his hands, his cheeks flushing just a little.

Riku took over after a few seconds of silence, when it became clear that Sora was having a hard time continuing. “When he explained what happened, I’ll admit that I yelled at him for being careless. You guys had gotten way too close to the trees; it’s why we don’t normally fight on that side of the island. I could see how upset he was, though, and that’s when he told me he wasn’t going to fight anyone from then on. He was too scared that he would really hurt someone. So, I told him that he should fight with just me, since I was older and bigger. I’m not saying that I’m better than you,” he said quickly as Kairi opened her mouth, fury in her eyes. “I just wanted to make him feel better, because he was miserable. He even refused, at first. I kept bugging him, and eventually he gave in to me. For a long time, he only fought with me, before Tidus wheedled him into a single match. After that, he sparred with him and a few of the others occasionally. But he still felt really guilty about hurting you, so he refused whenever you asked him for a match.”

Kairi sat, stunned into silence. She stared at them for a minute before she recovered enough to ask, “That explains why he refused, but why did you not want to fight with me, Riku?”

“Because I begged him not to,” Sora replied. “I’m not proud of it, but I figured that if I could hurt you, then so could he. Him agreeing to not fight you anymore was the only reason I decided to practice with him again. Neither of us thought about how it would look to you, and for that, we’re both really sorry.”

Speechless, Kairi sat across from them for a few minutes, looking back and forth between them. She was clearly torn between righteous anger and understanding affection, and they waited for one of those emotions to win out.

Eventually she gave a resigned sigh and came over to them, nudging them both until they moved enough for her to sit in the middle. Throwing an arm around each of them, she said, “I should be mad that you decided you needed to protect me _without talking to me_ , but it’s way too hard when you both look like kicked puppies. So this time I’ll give you a pass, but next time either of you tries to rescue me when I don’t need it, you’ll find yourselves flat on your ass before you can summon your Keyblade. Deal?”

Both boys chuckled before Riku said, “Deal. You’re a little terror now that you have a Keyblade, you know that?”

“Oh, Riku, if you think I’m a terror now, just wait until I become a Keyblade Master like you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I admit that the story about Kairi and Sora sparring is totally indulgent, but you can't honestly expect me to believe that Kairi was the only kid on the Islands who didn't fight. Come on, Nomura, that's ridiculous.


	7. A Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a strange dream, Sora makes a difficult decision

He didn’t know exactly where he was, but something about the place felt familiar. _Well, as much as a place he couldn’t actually see_ could _feel familiar_ , he thought. The platform he was standing on was lit up with a light that was blinding at first, though eventually he grew accustomed to it. As his vision came back to him, he realized he wasn’t alone.

Across from him stood a figure in a black coat, hood pulled down over his face. In each hand, he held a Keyblade. The other boy started to lift his head, but Sora didn’t need to look at the face that was revealed to know who he was. He met Roxas’s eyes as the hood fell back a little, and Sora was taken aback by the fury and hatred that burned in his gaze.

Without a word, Roxas launched himself across the platform and lifted both Keyblades high before striking downward. As if remembering a dance, Sora brought his own Keyblade up into a graceful parry. The blades locked in the air for a second before Roxas pulled back and swung his right hand, which wielded the Oblivion Keyblade. Instead of blocking, Sora jumped backwards, deftly avoiding Roxas’s left hand swing with Oathkeeper as well. Roxas pushed forward again, always on the offensive.

For the second time today, Sora found himself blocking blows just as fast as he could. Though he felt oddly refreshed from his earlier fight, as Roxas swung both Keyblades toward him, he realized that it wasn’t quite enough. He dodged backward again, but lost his balance and fell to the floor once more. Roxas stood over him menacingly, hood falling to cover his face again. He had one Keyblade at his left side and the other hovering over Sora’s heart. The position reminded him eerily of the last tense moments of the fight with Vanitas, hours earlier.

As that thought crossed his mind, Roxas banished the Keyblade from his left hand and reached up to push the hood away from his face. Sora was stunned for a second to see that he was no longer looking at Roxas, but himself. _Well, not quite_. The other boy had Sora’s face, but his hair was black and his eyes were a baleful yellow. Even so, it was enough of a resemblance to be seriously unsettling. His chest gave a painful lurch, and then the scene shifted.

Suddenly Sora was the one standing over a prone figure, only the boy in front of him looked like Roxas. He couldn’t put a finger on how he knew, but somehow he just knew that it wasn’t actually Roxas sprawled on the ground, even though they looked nearly identical. The boy looked up at him, eyes wide and mouth open as if to protest, as Sora’s arm moved of its own volition. They both watched it lift slightly, then swing down to the unprotected chest in front of him. Just before it struck, however, Sora woke with a start and promptly crashed ungracefully to the ground.

Lifting his head up, he realized that he’d been sleeping on the couch in the little den. The other two teens were nowhere in sight; they’d probably left him here when they’d seen he was sleeping, expecting him to wake before too long and migrate to an actual bed. Judging by the crick in his neck, he’d been sleeping in here for far too long.

Slowly, and stiffly, Sora pulled himself off the ground. Ever since the Mark of Mastery exam, his normal dreams had been invaded by darkness and destruction that left him reeling and waking up in a cold sweat, but this dream felt different. It felt like someone was trying to tell him something important, something he’d missed. He wondered if there was a reason that both Vanitas and his strange doppelganger had been so intent on touching his heart with their Keyblades. It seemed like there was something more to it than just trying to incapacitate him. Maybe he should ask Yen Sid. _Damn it, more stairs to climb_.

He brought a hand to his chest, feeling gently for the sore spots. The pain had receded a little since the fight, but it definitely felt like something was wrong. The other two had foisted a Potion on him earlier, which had helped, but Potions could only do so much. After a brief self-examination, Sora figured that nothing was actually broken, though his ribs would probably hurt like hell for the next few days. Especially after climbing up and down all these stairs.

As he trudged up the many floors of the Tower, he thought back to the conversation he’d had earlier with Riku and Kairi as a way to ignore the ache in his chest. He felt ashamed that she’d spent all this time thinking that they believed her to be weak and he was glad that they had finally cleared that misunderstanding up. Despite her threat, however, he knew that if she were in danger again, he would charge in to help just as he’d done earlier. He’d do the exact same thing for Riku, as well, no matter what either of them said. The three of them belonged together, even if the question of what exactly that meant made his stomach flutter nervously. He felt a fierce need to protect them, an urge he had yet to ignore. He might throw himself a little too willingly into danger, but it was worth it.

Especially since he hadn’t yet proven himself a Keyblade Master, like Riku had. Of course he’d been genuinely happy that Riku passed the Mark of Mastery exam, especially when he’d noticed that the other boy seemed to still question his worthiness to wield the Keyblade. Still, Sora was a little hurt that he wasn’t worthy of the same title. It had been part of why he took off shortly after the exam—he didn’t want his jealousy to overshadow his happiness for Riku, and his friend knew him too well to hide it for long. Then, while he was gone, he’d realized that he was considerably weaker than he’d been before Xehanort’s meddling. It’d been an altogether depressing revelation, especially with everything that was yet to come.

Since then, he’d been struggling with how to tell everyone about his newfound weakness. He had never found the right words to use, and so he just hadn’t said anything. In training with the others, he tried to play it off as being more focused on teaching than on showing his own skill. With every day that passed, the lie compounded out of control. He’d pushed himself harder than he should have, and had often been careless beyond explanation. Though he knew they suspected something was different, he’d been able to mostly convince Riku and Kairi that he was okay.

Obviously Yen Sid had known what was wrong, since the old man knew everything, but he hadn’t said a word until he sent Sora to Olympus Coliseum. That day, Sora had come back from a brief solo mission to find that Riku and King Mickey had already left for the Realm of Darkness. When his mentor suggested the trip, he was excited at the idea of being back up to full strength and had gone without any hesitation. Since Donald and Goofy were coming with him, it meant that they’d been let in on the secret of his lost strength, but he didn’t have to worry about them saying anything to Kairi.

Though they hadn’t asked him about it, he knew his two companions were curious as to why he hadn’t told anyone about being weakened. He didn’t really have much of an explanation, except that he was supposed to be this big hero, and now he was struggling to do anything right. He couldn’t even really protect the people that mattered the most to him, and he felt useless. Worse than useless, really, he was practically a liability. After getting his ass handed to him earlier, he couldn’t help but think that carrying out his half-formed plan to bring back Roxas might be worth it, even if something happened to him in the process. A loud crack disrupted his train of thought, and pain blossomed across his forehead.

“Ouch!” he cried out, rubbing his head where he’d managed to run into the door to Yen Sid’s study. He’d been so caught up in his own self-pity that he hadn’t really been paying attention to where he was. Hoping for the sake of his dignity that the occupant hadn’t heard him, he knocked on the door and opened it when he heard Yen Sid’s acknowledgement.

He walked in to the study and gave a small, painful bow before the desk. Ever since the first time he’d come here with Donald and Goofy, he’d tried to be a little more respectful of the former Keyblade Master, even if he thought it was little silly. Yen Sid seemed to take it in stride, though Sora got the distinct feeling that he found it humorous.

“Sora, I’m surprised to see you back here so soon,” Yen Sid said, when he had stood up straight once more. “Was something the matter?”

“I actually just remembered something that was kind of weird about my fight with Vanitas, and I wondered if you might know anything about it.” He paused as he gathered his thoughts, trying to figure out how to phrase the question. “It seemed like he kept trying to get his Keyblade to touch my heart. I think it reminded me of the way I used the Keyblade of Heart to unlock my heart, but I don’t understand why he would been trying it with a regular Keyblade.”

“You are already aware,” Yen Sid replied, “that your Keyblade can unlock many things. The ability to unlock hearts is a lesser known ability, but it is one that all Keyblades share; even yours, Sora.”

Sora froze, mind racing as he processed what Yen Sid had just told him. “But I thought the Keyblade of Heart was the only one that could do something with people’s hearts. I thought that’s why it was so unique.”

“And unique it is; it is created from the hearts of the Princesses, and it has the power to unlock the door to Kingdom Hearts. However, it is not the only Keyblade capable of unlocking the darkness in someone’s heart. Though this ability was largely lost to time, I believe Master Xehanort has been using it to create his vessels of Darkness.”

Well, this certainly changed things. He took a moment to wonder why Vanitas would be trying to unlock his heart before something else clicked in his brain: if he didn’t need the Keyblade of Heart to bring back Roxas, then he could do it on his own. Right now, if he wanted. His focus narrowed in as he formed a hasty—and probably incredibly reckless—plan. He couldn’t say exactly why he suddenly felt unable to stand still, but something about his bizarre dream was making him uneasy. He’d promised Roxas that he’d find a way to free him, and the look on his face in that dream felt like an accusation. It was like Roxas knew that he had a plan and was asking why he was still sitting around.

Realizing that he still had an audience, and that he’d been fidgeting in place for too long to be anything but suspicious, he quickly bowed once more and excused himself from the room. As he rushed down the stairs of the Tower, earlier pain forgotten, he continued to cobble his plan together. Riku and Kairi would certainly be pissed, but if it worked, then they would have another Keyblade Wielder on their side. If it didn’t…well, he’d worry about it later. He had little doubt that at the very least, unlocking his heart would free Roxas. The only problem was whether he would be able to claw his way out of the darkness again. He knew he should be a little more concerned about it, especially considering that even if it went off with no problem he’d still be facing the wrath of his friends. But it wasn’t like he was much help at the moment, anyway, with how weak he was. The risk seemed worth it, for the good of all the worlds.

He knew he’d have to avoid running into Riku or Kairi, because they simply knew him too well to miss the determination on his face, if his guilt didn’t give it away first. Donald and Goofy would also try to stop him if they knew his plan, just like they’d tried to stop him the first time. So he had to find somewhere to be alone, but it had to be close enough that he’d be able to find his way back to Kairi as a Heartless. Before, he’d retained just enough awareness to chase her to the entrance of Hollow Bastion, so he knew he could afford himself a little bit of distance.

As he neared the bottom of the Tower, he slowed down to walk more quietly since he didn’t know where anyone was. Hell, he didn’t even know what time it was, since time seemed to flow strangely here. He didn’t quite understand how that worked, since Twilight Town seemed to have normal days, but that didn’t entirely matter. _Actually, speaking of Twilight Town…_ he paused as that thought struck home. If he could get to the train without being seen, no one would know that he’d left. He could go over to the Old Mansion and free Roxas there. According to Lea, the mansion was where Xemnas had first found him anyway, and it would be almost poetic to bring him back there.

With his destination decided, Sora set off with renewed determination. He wasn’t usually the sneaky type, but he managed to avoid seeing anyone all the way to the train station. While he congratulated himself, however, he failed to realize that someone in the Tower was watching him as he boarded the train to Twilight Town.


	8. Just In Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aqua has finally returned to the Tower, and wants a chance to talk with Sora

Aqua shut the door to the sorcerer’s study, head whirring with everything he’d just told her. To be honest, she had mostly stopped listening around the time that Yen Sid had told her Sora had most likely been sheltering Ventus’s heart. After all this time, she might have finally found the key to keeping her promise and waking Ven up. She still needed to find a way to get Terra back, but maybe having Ven would make that easier.

“Hey, Aqua, are you okay?” Behind her, King Mickey had just exited the study and was looking at her with concerned eyes.

“Yeah, I’m okay, just…a little overwhelmed, actually. I would like to talk to Sora, though,” she responded. She needed to know if he knew how to wake Ven up, even though Yen Sid had said the boy wasn’t aware of the presence in his heart, yet. Even just having Ven’s heart nearby would put her at ease, though.

“Yen Sid said that he’d been up here not too long ago, so we should be able to find him pretty easily.” As he spoke, Mickey started walking toward the stairs. Before he could make it there, however, Donald and Goofy came running toward them.

“Your Majesty, you’re back!” Donald shouted. The two screeched to a halt in front of Mickey and bowed deeply.

“Aw shucks, you guys. There’s no need for that.” Clearly, the King was embarrassed by the show of fealty from his friends. From what he’d told her about their past, she didn’t exactly blame him; it was an odd situation. When they stood up again, he asked, “Hey fellas, have you seen Sora around? We were hoping to talk to him, but Yen Sid didn’t know exactly where he was.”

“Actually, I saw him get on the train to Twilight Town, just before you two got back,” Goofy answered. “I was surprised that he was awake so early. He seemed like he was trying to be real sneaky, though, and he got on the train alone.”

“Well, that’s definitely weird. But it’s all right; we’ll go and find him. You guys stay here, okay?” The king started walking towards the stairs, despite the protests visible on his friends’ faces. They decided against voicing their dissent, however, and Aqua gave them a sympathetic look as she also walked past them. She could understand their desire to go with Mickey and make sure he was okay. After all, they may have been his subjects, but they were his friends first and foremost.

The pair trudged down the steps in silence, Aqua unsure what to say to break it. When she’d first come out of the Realm of Darkness with Mickey and Riku, she had been overwhelmed by all the color and life around her. She didn’t know how to exist in this world anymore, or how to interact with other people. Silence was something she was used to, though she hated it at the same time.

Luckily, Mickey had seen her distress and sent Riku home before taking her to Radiant Garden. The place had been a mess, though he’d said they were making good progress in rebuilding it. Heartless had attacked it sometime while she was in the Darkness, though she hadn’t asked about the details. She had needed a little time to get used to the idea that she could live in the Light again. Mickey had talked softly about his life and his friends as she’d listened. Slowly, she’d gotten used to the sound of voices besides her own. She’d begun asking him questions after a little while, and soon they were walking around the town as they chatted. They’d spent the night there, and then made their way back to the Tower to finally speak with Yen Sid. Thinking of the sorcerer made her realize that talking with Mickey about what he’d revealed might help make sense of things, since she’d only been half paying attention.

After a moment, she said, “I don’t remember this Tower being quite so big, the last time I came.”

“It probably wasn’t. You see, Yen Sid controls the Tower and the area around it with his magic, and he can make it bigger or smaller as he sees fit. Before we came to get you, we were all using it as a sort of a home base so that we weren’t all spread out between worlds. All of us are here, which meant we needed a lot more room.” Mickey trotted easily down the stairs, looking like he’d done it plenty of times before. Which made sense, considering all the time he’d likely spent here.

“Who is ‘all of us’?” she asked. She could likely figure out a few of them, but it might be faster for Mickey to just list them.

“Well, there’s me, Donald and Goofy, obviously. Riku is here as well, along with Sora and Kairi. Lea comes and goes, so he has a room here, but most of the time, he’s actually with the three fairies. You’ll get a room here too, along with Ventus when we wake him up.”

“Kairi…that name sounds familiar. Is she a Keyblade Wielder too?”

“Yeah, she is. She’s also a Princess of Heart, which made for an interesting conversation. And you two have met before, in Radiant Garden.” As he spoke, Aqua suddenly remembered a little girl with red hair, a girl she’d saved from the Unversed.

“How did she get a Keyblade? I didn’t even know the Princesses of Heart could use one.”

Mickey smiled at her before saying, “Neither did we. It was pretty crazy when we found out—she could already summon it on her own, without any training. When Yen Sid talked to her, he found out about the two of you meeting and he thinks it has something to do with her touching your Keyblade. It took a long time for her to be able to use it, but something about that interaction must have granted her the ability to wield it.”

Shaking her head, Aqua replied, “But that’s not how a Bequeathing Ceremony is performed; she shouldn’t have been able to summon one just from touching mine. That’s just…not how it works.”

“Still, that doesn’t change the fact that she has one. Lea has a Keyblade as well, even though no one passed it to him. Yen Sid was pretty baffled for a while, and the best idea he could come up with was that while the Bequeathing Ceremony is one way to give someone a Keyblade, it must not be the only way. Obviously we don’t know much about these other ways, but he’s pretty sure it’s something that was lost in history. Lost until now, that is. We haven’t been able to figure out much more than that, but it also doesn’t seem like a priority right now.”

That was fair; it didn’t really matter _how_ they’d gotten their Keyblades, as long as they had them and could fight in the momentous battle that was coming. She didn’t like the idea of playing into Xehanort’s plans, but they also couldn’t let him try to use the Princesses of Heart to forge his weapon, either. As she contemplated their conundrum, she realized that they’d reached the landing for the bottom floor and that Mickey was now headed out the front door.

“We’ll need to take the train to Twilight Town, since that makes it a lot easier to blend in,” Mickey was saying to her. She looked around, seeing only a sheltered bench in the direction he was steering her.

“A train? But I don’t see anything,” she countered. Just then, she heard a peculiar sort of ringing.

“It’s got a mind of its own, really, but it’s enchanted so that none of the residents of the Town get on and discover the Tower here. Preserving the world order, you know.” While he was speaking, Aqua watched a small passenger train appear on the horizon, along with a set of glowing green tracks. The train chugged forward, finally coming to stop in front of them. When the doors opened, she noted that it was completely empty, further confirming its enchanted nature. She stepped cautiously into the car, followed closely by King Mickey. Taking a seat as the train started moving again, she watched as the train serenely chugged past twinkling stars into empty space. Then, magic flared up and surrounded the train, and then they were moving along a normal set of tracks that led into a quaint-looking town.

She stood as the train came to a stop and followed Mickey out into the train station. The second they were off the train, the doors closed and it took off the way it had come. It was definitely a strange bit of magic, but she had to admit that it was effective. When it was out of sight once more, she turned to the king for guidance on where to go next.

“Maybe he’s in the lab at the Old Mansion; Yen Sid sent him there earlier, after all,” Mickey suggested. “He’s been pretty bent out of shape about Roxas. He might have gone back to see if he could find anything useful.” Aqua nodded and gestured for him to lead the way. She’d never been here, after all, and he seemed to know where he was going.

“Roxas was his…Nobody, right? The one that looked like Ventus?” That was one of the tidbits of information she’d managed to retain from their discussion with Yen Sid, though those pieces were few. She was still pretty confused about all of this Heartless and Nobody business—though she’d been in the Realm of Darkness with the Heartless, she’d really only ever referred to them as demons. She hadn’t even realized they had a name.

“Yeah, Roxas was pretty special. He didn’t act like a normal Nobody, and Yen Sid thinks it was because he actually had at least a piece of Ventus’s heart in him. It’s why he looked like Ven, too.” She was glad that Mickey, at least, had been paying attention to what the sorcerer was saying.

“And he could wield a Keyblade.” That was another small piece. Considering that it had only ever been her and Terra growing up with their Master, though eventually Ven had come along, it was still strange to think that there could be this many Keyblade Wielders in one place. Especially when most of them were so young.

The pair lapsed into silence again as they walked through the small town, headed for a mansion that was apparently in its outskirts. Though she was trying very hard not to show it, Aqua was actually a little apprehensive. From what little she knew of Sora, he certainly didn’t seem the type to prefer solo adventures. He actually seemed quite a lot like Ven, something she’d noticed from the first brief moment when she’d met him. And the one occasion where Ven had gone off alone was when he had run away from the Land of Departure, right before everything had gone to hell. Though she couldn’t put her finger on why, something about this whole situation made her uneasy.

Eventually they spotted the mansion through the thick trees surrounding it. As they neared the front gate, they found a teenager who had to be Sora, standing stiffly with his Keyblade in his hand. He was looking up and away from them, towards the old house.

“Sora? Is something wrong?” Mickey called out. At the words, Sora turned towards them with confusion written on his face. Aqua was a little shocked to see that he was a mess of cuts and bruises, but the fact that they didn’t look that fresh kept her from summoning her Keyblade right then and there.

“Your Majesty? What are you doing here?” Something about Sora’s voice was incredibly familiar, and strangely, it set her teeth on edge.

“We came looking for you! Why do you have your Keyblade out, is someone else here?”

“No, no one’s here. It’s just me.” Just then, Aqua realized where she’d heard that voice before: when she’d fought that freak, the one who called himself Vanitas, he’d mocked her with a voice that sounded just like Sora’s. The revelation caused her to gather her magic, normally swirling loose and invisible around her, more tightly to her body.

“Well then, why don’t we go back to the Tower? I have someone who’d like to talk to you right here,” Mickey said.

Sora shook his head. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I can’t do that. I need to bring Roxas back, and this is the only way I know how.” He hesitated, before speaking again in a small voice. “Can you tell Riku and Kairi that I’m sorry? Just, you know, in case I don’t get the chance to.” Here, he started to raise his Keyblade in shaky hands, turning it towards himself.

“Sora, stop! What are you doing?” Mickey cried, seemingly frozen in place.

“He’s trying to unlock his heart. I’ve seen it done before,” she shouted as she summoned her own weapon. As she raised her Keyblade, spell on the tip of her tongue, several images seemed to clash in her head. She saw Vanitas, threatening Ven; Ventus, eyes golden instead of blue, taunting her with a voice that was heavily laced with the voice of the boy in front of her; Xehanort controlling Terra’s body, bringing his Keyblade up to his own chest. These memories were juxtaposed with the young man preparing to unlock his own heart as she released her spell. “ _Stop!”_

The spell hit Sora just before he could bring the Keyblade into contact with his chest. Immediately he froze, leaving time for Aqua and Mickey to close the distance and take the Keyblade out of his hands. They waited a few seconds, then a few more when Sora remained still. Aqua began to think that she might have put a little more force into the spell than she’d planned.

Finally, Sora blinked. His eyes still seemed a little out of focus as he looked at them and grinned dopily. “Wow, that was some spell! Can you teach me how to do that?”

Before she could respond, however, his eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled to the ground. Aqua and Mickey looked at each other in astonishment.

“That…was not supposed to happen,” she said quickly.

Mickey sighed. “Well, we’d better get him back to the Tower, and fast.”

The pair leaned over, each looping one of Sora’s arms around their necks and, after pulling him up between them as much as they could, carefully started making their way back towards the enchanted train.


	9. The Truth Comes Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aqua and Mickey get Sora back to the Tower, and the truth about Sora's weakness finally comes out

Kairi looked at the mirror and scowled as she tried to make her hair cooperate. Since she’d started training, she mostly wore it in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. That way, it wouldn’t be caught in anything or become a liability. Today, however, she’d been planning to wear it down since she was most definitely not training at all. Her hair had other plans and it refused to sit flat around her face. Eventually she gave up and tied it back, anyway. Maybe she should cut her hair short again; it might be less of a pain that way.

Stepping out of her room, she started toward the den where they’d left Sora sleeping last night. They’d actually tried to rouse him and send him to his own bed, but he must have been more exhausted than he let on. They couldn’t get him awake enough to do anything except swat vaguely in their direction and mutter darkly. Since both she and Riku were pretty tired themselves, they’d given up after a few minutes of that. Most likely, Sora was still passed out on the couch. He’d never been an early riser, even when sleeping in uncomfortable conditions.

When she got to the room, however, she was a little surprised to see that the couch wasn’t occupied. _Well, maybe he had woken up long enough to make it back to his room_ , she thought. She would be a little impressed if he’d managed to navigate the two flights of stairs between the bedrooms and the den with as drained as he must have been. Just then, Riku stepped through the door as well, frowning when he saw the empty couch. When he turned his eyes to her, she shrugged to indicate her ignorance of the other boy’s whereabouts.

“Maybe he just went back to his bed at some point,” she said. She hadn’t thought to check the bedroom on her way up here, since she’d been so sure he wouldn’t have moved.

Riku shook his head. “No, the door to his room was open, and he wasn’t in there.” Well, okay, that was pretty weird. She silently chastised herself for not thinking to look next door before she got to the stairs. Concern was starting to creep in, and one look at Riku’s face told her that he was feeling the same way.

At that moment, they heard the faint chime of the train from Twilight Town as it pulled into the station. Startled, they walked over to the nearest window to see who could possibly be using the train. They saw three figures step haltingly out of the passenger car: one was very clearly Mickey, one was a tall woman with blue hair, and the third, with that telltale mop of brown hair…

“Sora!” the two yelled simultaneously, immediately racing out of the room and down the stairs. Even from their spot halfway up the Tower, they could see that Mickey and the other woman were practically carrying him, which couldn't mean anything good. They didn’t exchange any words the entire way down and then out of the Tower, both too concerned with what had happened to their friend.

When they finally reached Mickey and the other woman, who Kairi realized must be Master Aqua, they only became more worried. Sora looked to be unconscious, his head hanging limp between the other two. There wasn’t any blood and nothing looked obviously broken, but that didn’t mean the situation was any less serious.

“What happened?” Riku asked, taking Sora’s arm from around Mickey’s neck and shouldering his weight instead. Kairi did the same thing on his other side, taking the burden from Aqua, since she looked exhausted. Given the fact that Mickey was quite a bit shorter than both her and Sora, Kairi imagined that the woman had been carrying the brunt of the teen’s weight.

Aqua shared a glance with Mickey before saying, “We’re not really sure. Let’s get him inside, then we’ll talk.” Nodding, the teens started walking towards the Tower once more.

No one spoke for a few minutes while Riku and Kairi all but dragged Sora into the Tower towards the infirmary that—until now—had remained essentially unused. Usually they only ducked in here every once in a while to grab a Potion or an Elixir, but now they made use of the small bed that sat in the middle of the room.

After they’d gotten Sora settled in to the bed, Kairi could see him a little bit better. His eyes were closed and his face was pale, more so than she’d ever seen him. He was still breathing, but it was distressingly shallow. She was seriously contemplating lifting his shirt to check for injuries when Yen Sid strode into the room. Taken aback, she wondered how he’d known to come here until she saw Donald and Goofy come stumbling in after him. She smiled faintly and wondered if Sora knew just how much everyone cared about him. Her smile slipped after a moment, though, and she turned toward the bed.

Everyone shifted away slightly as Yen Sid approached, wanting to give him room to make his assessment. The old sorcerer sat in a chair next to the bed and closed his eyes, extending his hands to hover over Sora’s chest. Not wanting to interfere, the observers were quiet until Yen Sid broke the silence.

“Mickey, Aqua, you were the ones to bring him here. What happened?” He hadn’t bothered to open his eyes as he waited for an answer.

Again, Mickey and Aqua shared a look. “I hit him with a high-level Stop spell,” she said quietly. The room exploded with noise.

“You did what?” Riku shouted from his place next to Kairi.

“Why would you do that?” Donald quacked angrily. “That kind of magic isn’t something to play around with.” Even from her admittedly limited experience, Kairi had to agree with him. The only reason she wasn’t joining everyone else in shouting at the young woman was because her concern for Sora overrode her anger.

“Silence.” Yen Sid’s voice was booming in the small room, even with the current commotion. At once, everyone shut their mouths decisively. “I assume there is more to this story. Please, continue.”

“After we talked to you,” Mickey said, “Aqua wanted to speak with Sora. Goofy said he’d seen him get on the train to Twilight Town, so we followed him there. He was at the Old Mansion, and he was acting real weird.” Here, Mickey looked uncertain, and Aqua picked up the explanation.

“He was trying to use his Keyblade to unlock his heart. I used a Stop spell on him to give us a chance to reach him before he could do it, but I threw a little more magic behind the spell than I meant to.” She looked guilty, wincing as she admitted her mistake.

“But you can only use the Keyblade of Heart to do that,” Riku protested. Aqua, Mickey and Yen Sid all shook their heads.

“That’s not true, Riku. Any Keyblade is capable of it. That’s how Xehanort has been able to create his Vessels of Darkness,” Mickey explained sadly. “I just…don’t understand why Sora was trying to do it.”

A thought occurred to Kairi, and she gripped Riku’s arm hard. Turning to catch his eye, she could see in his expression that he remembered the same conversation she did. “Actually, I think we know why.”

Quickly, they told the assembled party about Sora’s haphazard “plan” to bring Roxas back. Everyone was rightfully appalled by it, though none were surprised that Sora had been determined to see it through. He’d always been a little reckless, and even becoming a Guardian of Light didn’t change that.

Eventually, Yen Sid sighed and sat back in his chair. A little bit of color had come back to Sora’s face, and he seemed to be breathing easier. He still didn’t wake up, however.

“What’s wrong with him, Master Yen Sid?” Goofy asked after a short pause.

“After the fight with Vanitas and the others, Sora had exhausted himself rather thoroughly. That, in addition to his weakness from Xehanort’s manipulation during the Mark of Mastery exam—”

“His what?” Kairi asked, flabbergasted. She’d known he was acting weird, but he hadn’t said anything about being weaker after the exam. _Although,_ she admitted to herself, _that actually puts a few things in a new light_. Like why he’d been seemingly taking it so easy on her in practice, and why he’d taken such a beating from Vanitas. It might even explain why he seemed so reluctant to accept help from her and Riku the other night. She continued to digest this new information as Yen Sid explained.

“In drawing on the darkness in Sora’s heart, Xehanort left him in a weakened state, though I do not know if that was the intention. He lost a significant amount of the strength he had built up on his journey so far and was working to find it again. According to Donald and Goofy, he’s already recovered a portion of it but he still has a lot to do.” So those two had known about it. She shot them a dark glare and found them looking appropriately guilty. She’d deal with them later.

Picking up where he’d left off after Kairi interrupted him, Yen Sid said, “As a result of those two factors, he left himself exceedingly defenseless. When Master Aqua hit him with that spell, his body was unable to handle the force of the magic. Even if Aqua had used a lower-level spell, however, it is quite possible that it would have had the same effect. He needs to rest for now before we will know any more, including whether he has any further injuries. He will wake up soon, once his body has recovered.” The old sorcerer stood, making his way between the gathered heroes to the door of the infirmary, clearly satisfied that he’d done what he could.

Kairi moved to sit in the chair he’d vacated, grabbing Sora’s hand in hers. Despite Yen Sid’s assurances, every minute that Sora spent asleep on the bed seemed too long. He’d always been the one of them that seemed unshakeable. Even Riku, who was currently a calming presence at her side, had nothing on Sora. Whenever things went wrong, he would meet them with a smile and a corny joke, unafraid. He was reckless, absolutely, but rarely had it turned out so badly for him. She was nearly out of her mind with worry.

Under the surface, though, Kairi could feel the anger that began to fester as she thought about what Sora had decided to do without telling them. Concern overshadowed it for the moment, but it wouldn’t remain that way indefinitely. When he woke up, he was definitely going to get it. She imagined Riku was thinking something along those same lines, based on the way his jaw was clenched right now.


	10. Crossing Lines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora finally wakes up, and tensions boil over. After a blow-up between the boys, Kairi and Riku have an enlightening conversation

Honestly, if Sora came out of this okay, Riku was probably going to kill him.

He could hardly believe that Sora had been lying to them this whole time, pretending that nothing had changed. He’d never kept something this important to himself before, but then maybe Riku should have known something was up from his odd behavior. Maybe if he’d been able to piece it together, Sora wouldn’t have put himself in danger like this.

Pulling up another chair to the opposite side of the bed, he sat down heavily across from Kairi. She was undoubtedly furious as well, though her hands were gentle as she brushed the hair off Sora’s face. Riku had to look away as she leaned down and kissed the sleeping teen’s forehead. The younger two had always shared an easy physical affection that he could never take part in; he’d never let himself, really. Ever since they were young, he’d seen the way they looked at each other and he knew they belonged together. Despite his own ridiculous feelings for them, he’d resolved to step out of their way. And he’d tried so hard to just be content with that.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t been entirely successful. Jealousy had started eating away at him. That same jealousy had been just one more thing that Ansem and Maleficent had used against him. They manipulated him until he was nearly blind with pain, and willing to turn that pain against anyone in his path. After he very nearly killed both of his friends, he knew that if he hadn’t been worthy of their love before, he certainly wasn’t worthy now. That realization had hurt, but it made it a little easier to step aside. He would have walked away that day in the World That Never Was, if Sora and Kairi hadn’t begged him to stay. It had turned out so much better than he’d ever dreamed, and he told himself that he was lucky to have their friendship.

He slumped in his chair, settling in for a long wait. Yen Sid had said Sora would wake up eventually, but he hadn’t exactly given them a time frame. Knowing the amount of stress Sora had put his body through in the past 24 hours, as well as having firsthand experience of both the boy’s pigheaded willingness to push far beyond his limits and the true strength of Master Aqua’s magical ability, Riku didn’t expect him to wake up any time soon. As it turned out, he wasn’t wrong.

Sora didn’t wake up at all that day. Riku and Kairi stayed and kept watch in the infirmary, unwilling to leave him. Mickey and the others, seeing that the two teenagers would keep a close eye on their patient, had cleared out of the room quickly. They still checked in every hour or so and even brought food on a few occasions. Setting some aside for Sora, who would likely be starving when he woke up, they waited and watched for any changes.

At one point, Sora’s breathing sped up and he started shifting around restlessly, as if he was having a bad dream. He even gave a few whimpers, though they weren’t sure if they were out of fear or pain. In an attempt to calm him down, they each grabbed one of his hands and gripped it tightly. For a few tense moments, they sat there as his movements became more erratic and they started to worry that if he did have any injuries they didn’t know about, he was going to make them worse. Just when they were about to call for help, though, he calmed down. His breathing slowed down again and he stopped flailing around. Whatever he’d been dreaming about, it seemed that it was over for now. He was quiet again for the next few hours.

That night, still in the infirmary, Riku and Kairi took turns dozing in their chairs. It was during Riku’s watch that the other boy began stirring again. He nudged Kairi, who jerked awake and looked sharply around the room, as if she’d forgotten where she was. After a second, she was able to place her surroundings. She shook her head slightly—probably to wake herself a little bit more—just as Sora opened his eyes and groaned.

“Oh man, why do I feel like I stepped in front of the enchanted train?” he said, hand coming up slowly to grip his head.

“Probably because you pushed your body too far, and then took a high-level spell from a Master to the face.” As soon as the sharp retort was out, Riku winced internally. He hadn’t intended to be so cold, but his anger was starting to rear its head. Fear and worry had washed away most of his restraint, and he was definitely close to losing it.

Sora’s eyes widened in panic as he picked up on Riku’s anger. In any other situation, Riku would have been tempted to laugh at the look on his face. Right now, it just pissed him off even more.

“What the hell were you thinking? You went off on your own with some half-assed plan to unlock your heart—while you were still hurt—because you couldn’t just wait to find another way to bring back Roxas?” His voice climbed in volume the longer he spoke, until he was practically yelling. Sora, who’d started to sit up, sank down miserably. The wince on his face was half pain, half guilt.

“Not to mention the fact that you didn’t tell us that you were weak to begin with. I thought it was supposed to be the three of us—together—from now on. You’re supposed to trust us, so why didn’t you trust us enough to tell us?” Kairi’s voice was decidedly calmer, but she was all the more terrifying for it. She had long ago mastered the kind of quiet anger that left you begging for forgiveness. Neither boy had ever managed to build up immunity to her, and Sora started squirming uncomfortably.

“Of course I trust you guys, you’re my best friends,” Sora started, his voice wavering ever so slightly.

“But you don’t trust us enough to listen to what we have to say, when it comes to putting yourself in danger?” Kairi asked, smoothly interrupting his attempts to talk around the question. “You obviously left the Tower to carry out your plan without us stopping you, even after we told you that we didn’t like it. There are so many things that could have gone wrong, but you decided to do it anyway. Why?”

“Because it’s my fault he’s gone.” He sat up in the bed with a grimace. “The only reason he had to give himself up was because of me, and I promised him that I would find a way to bring him back.”

“But why does that mean you have to sacrifice yourself to get him back?” It really bothered Riku that the younger boy didn’t even seem to realize the amount of danger he’d put himself in.

“If it wasn’t for me, Roxas would still be here. I owed it to him to at least try it.” Sora’s voice had taken on an edge of resolute finality that grated on his nerves. It spurred him on to keep arguing.

“But you still haven’t answered my question. Why were you so ready to sacrifice yourself on the chance that it might bring Roxas back? Even if it had worked, we talked about what could go wrong with getting you back afterwards.”

“Because I’m already weak! Because I’m a liability to you guys right now, and Roxas would probably be more help. I’m expendable; I’m the one who was never supposed to have a Keyblade, anyway. You’re better off with him than me.” Silence settled on the trio for a moment, as Riku tried to understand what Sora had just admitted. He thought they’d be okay with him just giving up like that? Riku shook his head angrily, and he saw that Kairi looked just as horrified at the thought.

Sora opened his mouth to speak again, but Riku didn’t give him the chance. “No, you’re done talking. Now you need to listen to me. Unless you’re planning to apologize for taking off to be an idiot on your own.” Sora paused and shut his mouth. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.

“You knew full well what the risks were, but you decided that you needed to try it anyway.” He knew anger was starting to get the best of him, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. “Did it ever occur to you, while you were out risking your life on a whim, what you being hurt might do to the people who care about you? What it might do to us?” At some point during his rant, he’d stood up as if towering over Sora might make his words hit home.

When Sora didn’t respond, he snorted disdainfully. “Of course you didn’t, because that would require you to actually think about something before you do it. You’re so busy playing the hero that you can’t be bothered to think about what might happen after, when we’re stuck picking up the broken pieces.” Kairi gave a small gasp, and he realized he’d crossed a line. Hurt and shock flashed across Sora’s face, and he desperately wished he could take his last sentence back. His stomach twisted painfully as the cruel words echoed in his head.

After a moment, Sora recovered. Anger dominated his face. “Alright, so maybe I am a little reckless. But don’t forget, if it hadn’t been for me ‘playing hero’, none of us would be here right now. Ansem would have used Kairi’s heart to open the door to Kingdom Hearts, right after he had you kill me to get it back.”

It was Riku’s turn to be stunned into silence. His hands loosened from the fists that he’d formed at his side while yelling at Sora, and his back went rigid. The other boy looked less angry and more alarmed with each second that passed without a word from Riku. If Sora regretted his words half as much as Riku regretted his, then he could very well imagine how hard it felt to come back from that. The silence stretched out agonizingly. Kairi looked between the two of them as if willing one of them to apologize and make things right.

“Maybe you’re right,” Riku said finally. His voice sounded hollow even to his own ears. “Obviously you don’t need our help for anything. So, I’ll just get out of your way and you can continue looking for ways to get yourself hurt.”

With that, he pivoted on his heel and stomped out of the room, ignoring the protests from both of his friends. He’d nearly made it to the end of the hallway when he heard Kairi say something sharply to Sora, and then light footsteps sounded as she caught up with him.

She didn’t say anything or try to make him stop walking. She merely followed him out of the Tower onto the grass. He turned to face her, hoping that his thunderous expression would convince her to leave it alone. She knew him better than to allow that to chase her off, however, so she folded her arms across her chest and glared back as she waited for him to speak.

After a few tense seconds, Riku finally broke. “I fucked up, I know. I shouldn’t have made that comment about playing hero,” he said, sighing.

“No, you shouldn’t have. But that’s not why I followed you out here.” At Riku’s shocked look, she uncrossed her arms. “You left because you’re upset, and you’d rather hide from us than to admit it. I’m not letting you get away with that. Not anymore.”

Riku flushed, but didn’t say anything. While he knew his friends could pick up on his moods more than anyone else he knew, sometimes it still took him by surprise.

Sensing that he wasn’t going to respond, Kairi’s expression softened. “So, let’s talk. I can see you’re planning on beating yourself up some more, but you’re just going to have to do it with me here.” She sat down on the grass without a second thought, looking up at him and patting the spot next to her invitingly. Riku sat down next to her reluctantly.

“Kai…what Sora said wasn’t wrong. If he hadn’t bested me in Hollow Bastion, I would have killed him. And even if your heart had survived that, I would have used it to finish that damn Keyblade.” He hated that he sounded so miserable.

Her gaze didn’t waver. “Ansem is the one who was trying to open the way to Kingdom Hearts; he’s the one who attacked Sora, not you.”

“But it was me! Ansem might have been controlling my body at that point, but I was still there, watching everything he did. And…there was a part of me that really did want to see Sora get hurt. I wanted him to feel just a small part of the pain that I felt.” Kairi’s eyes grew wide, and he had to look away before he could continue. “I was angry, and jealous, and I almost killed the two most important people in my life because of it.”

Kairi didn’t say anything for a minute, and Riku pulled his knees up to his chest as if the motion could hide the shame that threatened to overwhelm him. He was berating himself for being so honest when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head slightly, he met Kairi’s violet eyes as she gave him a concerned look.

“Riku…it doesn’t matter. You made a mistake, and we forgave you for it. You don’t have to keep beating yourself up about it.” Her eyes didn’t leave his, something he found reassuring despite himself. “Besides, Sora and I both know that the boy who joined Maleficent wasn’t the real Riku. It’s not who you are, and you’ve already proven that several times over with how often you’ve saved us.”

Riku didn’t know how to respond, still drowning in his guilt. Seeing that her words hadn’t had quite the impact she wanted, Kairi sighed and moved to sit on her knees in front of him. She grabbed his face gently with both hands, forcing him to hold her gaze,

“Sora and I grew up with you on Destiny Islands, so I think I know what I’m talking about. You were acting different right before the Heartless invaded, and we could both see it. What was wrong?”

He hesitated for a moment. After all, he’d kept this secret even as they all went through hell. But one look at her face told him that he’d finally reached the point of no return. She wasn’t going to let him off that easy anymore. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the pity that would come as a result. “Like I said, I was jealous. I saw the way you and Sora looked at each other—the way you still look at each other. As much as I hated it, I knew that I was the third wheel in all of this. You guys were just too nice to say as much. I thought, for a while, that I could be happy just being your friend. But as much as I wanted to be around you, it hurt more than I could have ever imagined. So I thought that if I were able to get away from the islands, then it would be easier to get over this stupid crush. But Sora wasn’t making it any easier for me to get away.” His throat closed up a little at Kairi’s shocked expression. He thought he could read just a little bit of disappointment in it, but he was probably just imagining it.

“You had a crush…on Sora?” she asked.

“Not…not just Sora.” His face flushed as she continued to look at him, and he realized she was waiting for him to elaborate. “I’ve been in love with both of you for years. I didn’t say anything because it was clear to just about everyone that the two of you were going to be together, and I just couldn’t break that up. Especially when I was selfish enough to fall in love with both of you.”

Maybe it was the fact that he’d been biting back the words for so long, but he suddenly found that he couldn’t stop talking. “I don’t…I’m not expecting anything. From either of you. I realized a long time ago that it was never a possibility.” Okay, he was starting to babble, now. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything, actually. We can just go back to pretending this conversation never happened.”

As he spoke, Kairi sat still and stared. She seemed to be thinking something over. Realizing he wasn’t making anything better, he shut his mouth abruptly and started trying to pull back from the hands that still framed his face. At the motion, she seemed to come to a decision. Without warning, she leaned forward and pressed her lips firmly to his. He froze, unsure how to react, while his entire focus narrowed in on the feeling of their mouths joined together. For a few seconds, neither teen moved. When Kairi finally pulled back, Riku’s mind kicked into gear once more and settled firmly into panic mode.

Jumping up from his spot on the ground, Riku practically ran back into the Tower and was relieved when he didn’t hear any footsteps following him.


	11. A Third Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yen Sid comes to check on Sora, and to tell him about Ventus's fate.

_Just because you started this alone doesn’t mean you still are. You’re the one who says that your friends are your power but from where I’m standing, you’re doing a damn good job of pushing us away._

That was the last thing Kairi had said to him before she ran out the door after Riku. Even after all the shit he’d been through, he was sure those words would haunt him for a long time.

He felt like a grade-A asshole. He’d managed to chase off both his best friends within ten minutes of being awake because he couldn’t admit that he’d been stupid. He’d spent so long throwing himself wholeheartedly at a problem that he didn’t know any other way to help. Riku was right; he hadn’t thought about how any of his friends would feel if something happened to him.

His mind flashed back to all the times he’d seen his friends hurt: Kairi, motionless and silent without her heart; Goofy, lying on the ground after being knocked unconscious in Hollow Bastion; Riku, cradling his injured torso as they stumbled along in the Dark Margin. The fear he’d felt for them had been so intense that even in memories, it nearly took his breath away. Somehow, in all that time, he’d failed to think about how his friends might get a taste of that same fear when he did something particularly reckless. And yeah, it made him feel ridiculously guilty to have made things harder for them.

He also knew Kairi was right—he wasn’t going to be alone in this battle. He had so many friends that were willing to risk their lives to help him, but he’d still been focused on trying to do this on his own. It was just…after the exam, he’d felt driven to prove that he was worthy. Not just worthy of the title of Keyblade Master, but worthy of wielding the weapon in the first place. He knew the Keyblade he used wasn’t originally supposed to be his. Usually he tried not to think too hard about it, but clearly, his heart had been struggling to let it go. Then, his failure to catch on to Xehanort’s deception had shaken him far more than he’d wanted to admit. So he’d pushed himself even more than ever in an effort to redeem himself and eventually he’d pushed too far. He’d been so worried about being useless that he’d basically made himself an invalid, temporary as it likely was.

His dark thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the infirmary door. He looked up, expecting to see someone standing there until he belatedly realized that Kairi had closed the door when she left. “Come in,” he called out, since he didn’t trust himself to walk anywhere without flopping face-first on the ground. The door opened and Yen Sid walked in, his expression as stern as Sora had ever seen it. He crossed over to the bed and took the seat that Riku had abandoned a few minutes before. Briefly, his cheeks flushed with shame when he remembered why that chair was empty. But the moment passed, and he focused on the man currently seated there.

“How are you feeling, Sora?” The former Keyblade Master’s voice was steady and didn’t hint to what he might be thinking.

Sora considered the question for a minute, trying to take stock of his various aches and pains. He had never realized just how often he needed to breathe until now, when every breath felt like he was being stabbed with a dull knife. Before, he was pretty sure nothing was actually broken, but he was starting to second-guess that due to the sheer amount of pain radiating from his ribs. Something about the fall to the ground must have aggravated his earlier injury. He tried to breathe a little more shallowly, but that just made his head spin unpleasantly. Gritting his teeth against the pain helped a little, but he knew he’d have a nasty headache later.

The rest of his body felt loose and sluggish, like he’d been taken apart and put back together too quickly: some of the parts weren’t put back together just right, leaving him too stretched out. Nothing else seemed to truly hurt, other than his chest, which loudly protested every little movement. He’d never been good at sitting still.

Realizing he still hadn’t answered Yen Sid’s question, he said, “Well, I do feel a little like I just had all of Merlin’s magic furniture land on top of me at once.” He was still evading the truth, and the look in the magician’s eyes told Sora that he wasn’t fooled.

Ignoring his admittedly weak joke, Yen Sid nodded solemnly. “Yes, I imagine you would. Master Aqua mentioned that she used a high-level Stop spell on you at the Mansion. In combination with your weakened powers and your fight with Vanitas yesterday, it took a serious toll on your body.”

“Yeah, I noticed that part,” Sora grumbled. He and his body had definitely been through some crazy stuff in the past two years, and he couldn’t help feeling a little betrayed right about now. He was sure he’d taken harder hits before, though he had to admit that he’d usually been at least close to full strength at those times. Still, he’d never felt this weak.

“Mickey and Aqua brought you back here as quickly as they could after you passed out. While you were asleep, I was able to use my magic to speed up the healing process. However, it will still be a few days before you are back in fighting shape. There was only so much I could do for you. Potions and time will complete the process, and you should have no lasting effects. In the future, however, I must warn you against pushing yourself this hard. Rest is sometimes a necessity.”

“But I still need to get strong again, and we have to find the other Guardians of Light. I don’t have time to rest,” he protested. He started shifting his weight, intending to get up despite the fact that his entire body felt like Jell-O. While he’d realized a few minutes ago that he didn’t have to do everything himself, he still wasn’t going to just sit around. Unfortunately, his limbs didn’t seem to be willing to cooperate. The only thing he accomplished was getting tangled in the blanket and then almost falling off the bed entirely.

“The Guardians are almost assembled, Sora, and we will need your help in order to find the last one. But we will need you to be well-rested to bring him back, as your current state would no doubt prove to be a hindrance to the task.”

Sora was so hurt by the words that echoed his earlier thoughts that for a second, he didn’t listen to the rest of what Yen Sid had said. Even once his brain caught up with his ears, though, he couldn’t make sense of the words. “Bring him back? What does that mean, Yen Sid?”

For a second, something that looked an awful lot like guilt flashed across the sorcerer’s face, though it was gone before Sora could be sure. When he answered the question, his voice was as level as always. “Now that Aqua has returned to the Realm of Light, she will be able to lead us to the last Guardian of Light. However, it will not be quite that simple: the boy has been asleep for the last 12 years, and we will need your assistance in order to wake him up.”

“But why do you need me? Wouldn’t Riku be the better choice, especially since he was able to wake my heart during the exam?”

“Unfortunately, this is not something Riku will be able to do. Nor would anyone else be up to the task, for that matter. Only you are capable of waking him up,” Yen Sid replied, which only confused Sora further.

“Why does it have to be me? I don’t see why I’m so special. I’m not even supposed to have the Keyblade in the first place.” He hadn’t planned to say that last part aloud, but clearly his mouth had a mind of its own.

“That is true. But have you given any thought as to _why_ you were able to take control of the Keyblade in the first place? After all, it was originally intended to go to Riku.” The sudden change of topic threw him for a loop, and he blinked a few times in confusion before he answered.

“Well…honestly, I was trying not to think about it.” He reached up and scratched his head despite the flash of pain at the movement. Though he was embarrassed by his answer, he also knew that Yen Sid didn’t ask questions like that unless they were important.

“I see,” the sorcerer replied, closing his eyes and stroking his beard. “I have thought on it quite a long time, and I have a theory that I believe to be satisfactory. Would you like to hear it?”

Despite the fact that he should practically be used to it at this point, Sora could barely keep his exasperation at the circuitous line of questioning out of his voice. “I thought we were talking about finding the last Guardian of Light.”

“Indeed, but the answer to why it must be you is related to this matter. You see, the last Guardian we are looking for lost his heart 12 years ago, and we must bring it back to him in order to wake him up.”

“How am I supposed to find his heart? I don’t know where to even start looking.”

“There is no need to look for his heart, because it currently resides in you. It is what drew the Keyblade to you in the first place, and it is the reason that we need you in order to wake him up.”

Sora’s jaw dropped as he stared at his mentor, and all words completely abandoned him. Surely, Yen Sid couldn’t be serious. How could he possibly be holding this guy’s heart when he’d never even met him? His disbelief must have shown on his face, because after a moment Yen Sid spoke again.

“The stars have spoken to me about the events of 12 years ago, so I will attempt to explain as much as I know. However, for everything to make sense, I will need to start 16 years ago with a young Keyblade wielder named Ventus.”

Once again, Sora felt that little jolt of recognition from somewhere in his chest at the name. Well, it seemed that Yen Sid wasn’t wrong. He recognized the feeling of another presence in his heart, so it seemed silly to continue denying it. Still, it didn’t explain how he came to hold this guy’s heart in the first place.

As Yen Sid told him about a young apprentice whose cruel master unlocked the darkness in his heart and ripped it from his body, a sadness that wasn't his own threatened to overwhelm him. It was similar to the times when Roxas had made him so sad that he cried, though when he concentrated, he felt the subtle difference in personality that indicated a different person. It made him feel guilty that yet another individual had been trapped in his heart.

It wasn’t until the end of the story, however, that everything finally clicked into place. Suddenly, it was like he was four years old again, standing in front of a strange little ball of light. As he stared at it, he heard a faint voice speaking to him. _Can I stay with you?_

His face paled a little as he realized just how long he must have been carrying Ventus’s heart. Yen Sid had stopped talking, and was now watching him carefully as he continued his internal freak-out.

If he’d been sheltering Ventus’s heart this whole time, then he’d been putting the other boy in danger every time he’d done something reckless, including this latest disaster. While he was willing—much too willing, he was starting to realize—to put himself in danger to protect the people around him, he’d worked hard to avoid endangering anyone else with his plans. The knowledge that he’d unintentionally been putting Ventus at risk made him sick to his stomach.

As he tried to set aside his guilt in favor of continuing this discussion, he recalled what Yen Sid had said about how his use of the Keyblade might be tied to this other boy’s heart. An unpleasant thought occurred to him. “Master Yen Sid, if Ventus is the reason I’m able to wield a Keyblade, does that mean I’ll lose that ability when I return his heart to him?” He was a little ashamed to admit that losing his Keyblade after everything he’d been through would actually be devastating. And it would render him unable to fight in that final battle with his friends, making him worse than useless. He held his breath as he waited for an answer.

But the sorcerer shook his head, and Sora found that he could breath again. “I do not think you need to worry about that. While I believe that Ventus’s presence made it easy for you to summon the Keyblade with little formal training, you have since proven yourself worthy as its wielder; so much so that when Riku tried to take the Keyblade from you in Hollow Bastion, the strength of your heart called it back to you. Your heart is your greatest power, in more ways than one. Your Keyblade answers to you now.”

At that, Sora felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. All this time, he’d been concerned with proving he was worthy of the Keyblade’s choice, but it already considered him a worthy wielder. Maybe the only person he’d been trying to prove anything to…had been himself. Which sounded a lot like something Riku would say.

Oblivious to Sora’s racing thoughts, Yen Sid continued speaking. “With that being said, I do believe you have wielded Ventus’s Keyblade in the past.” Sora gave him a confused look. “When you first utilized your Drive forms, I’m sure you noticed that some of them allowed you to wield two Keyblades at once. It is my theory that during those times, you called Ventus’s Keyblade to you. Roxas was also capable of dual wielding for a short time. The two of you were only able to do so because Ventus’s heart resided within you, and you will likely lose this ability when you return his heart to him.”

Well, that was certainly disappointing, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t so bad. He nodded to indicate that he understood, and the sorcerer stood up from his chair.

“I will leave you to rest, for now. Although I do believe that there is someone who is eager to speak with you, if you feel up to it.” Expecting the person in question to be waiting at the door, Sora glanced up in that direction but saw no one. “She is waiting down the hall, as she did not want you to feel rushed.”

“Yeah, you can send her in. I’ll just be waiting here.” Actually, he’d probably try to shovel some food down, since he could see a tray waiting on the stand next to the bed. Somehow he’d missed it until now, but he was starving.

Yen Sid walked sedately towards the door as Sora reached carefully for the tray, trying not to jostle his throbbing ribs. Just before he grabbed the tray, a thought occurred to him and he paused.

“How long have you known Ventus’s heart was inside me? I mean, that’s what the Mark of Mastery exam was about, wasn’t it? You wanted to make sure I would be able to wake his heart up, since it’s been sleeping for so long.”

“Indeed.” The sorcerer looked over his shoulder when he spoke, but didn’t turn around. “I apologize for not telling you before, but I have believed for some time that it was highly likely. My theory was all but confirmed when Riku told me what had transpired when he dove into your heart. I did not tell you for the same reason I did not tell Riku about Master Aqua: I feared that you would run off and try to help before you were truly ready.” Finally, the sorcerer turned to face him with a sad smile. “Given how my intentional silence has turned out so far, I am very sorry for keeping it from you. I am a very old man who has spent far too long conversing with the stars, and sometimes I forget that I might be doing more harm than good by keeping things from my students.”

With that, he turned and left the room, carefully closing the door on his way out. Sora wondered who it was that was so eager to come and talk to him. It was probably that woman he’d seen at the Old Mansion, the one who’d hit him with the Stop spell. She had looked vaguely familiar, and after a moment he realized why: he’d seen her before, on Destiny Islands the same day he’d accepted Ventus’s heart. _She must be Master Aqua, then_. Having finally snagged the tray and lifted it over to his lap, he resettled gingerly to eat without aggravating his ribs too much. Since she would be here soon enough, he was better off taking the time to fill his now-growling stomach.


	12. An Interesting Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kairi comes to a decision about her relationship with Riku and Sora, and presents her idea to Riku

_Well, that could have gone better_ , Kairi said to herself as she watched Riku beat a fast retreat. She didn’t know exactly what had possessed her to kiss him just now. However, she had to admit that it was one of the only things from the past few years that had just felt… _right_.

When the trio was younger, they’d been practically inseparable. All the adults on the islands had always commented on just how cute the three of them were. But every once in a while—when they thought the children weren’t listening—Kairi would hear them talk about how sad it would be when they got older. _What a shame_ , they’d say _, that one of them is going to end up as a third wheel._ _Hopefully they’ll find another friend, so they can pair up nicely._ For a while, she’d thought this was just nonsense. Why would one of them be left out, when they were such good friends? So, she’d ignored the whispers.

Even before Destiny Islands fell to darkness, though, she’d known something was off. It had started when Sora and Riku had stopped sparring with her. Though she knew now why they’d done it, it had very nearly broken her young heart. The two boys had a long history of fierce competition that she wasn't part of, and their refusal had made her feel almost isolated. It felt like she was going to be the one left behind, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

But she didn't let that keep her from tagging along. Maybe she thought she could force them to change their minds, or maybe she just couldn’t stand to be apart from them. They were kind enough to let her play referee, since their tempers tended to get the best of them sometimes.

So, it wasn’t until a few years later that she realized what she wanted from them was more than just friendship. The realization came during one of their more heated races on the obstacle course. They were neck and neck the entire time, up until the final crucial jumps across the wooden planks. They only looked at each other for a second, but it was enough: Kairi was struck dumb by the genuine affection and _love_ in their eyes, especially in the heat of their race. There was also a third element, something Kairi didn’t have a name for, but it made her knees go a little bit weak nonetheless.

Up until now, romance hadn’t been a factor in their friendship. She’d been lulled into complacency by that absence, but that look told her that things were going to change. The two boys crossed the finish line at nearly the same time, but she was so distracted that she missed it. She’d forgotten who she said had won.

Later that day, after they’d all gone home for the evening, Kairi knew she was in trouble. Seeing them look at each other like that had sparked a jealousy so fierce that it scared her. When she couldn’t figure out which boy she was actually jealous of, she had to admit that what she really wanted…was both of them. Obviously, that was something that could never happen. So she’d decided not to say anything at all.

Not too long after that night, Riku had started acting strange, aloof and cold. His teasing, which had previously been so lighthearted, became a little too biting to be fun. Something about his behavior grated on her nerves, even though she still wanted to be around him. Still, the worst thing was how sharp his tongue seemed to be, even with them. Every once in a while, he’d say something just on the wrong edge of cruel and she could see the hurt flash on Sora’s face.

Desperate to make Sora feel better somehow, she’d started spending time with just him. He was goofy and fun, and she quickly realized that he felt more than just friendly affection for her. She’d been very close to confessing her own feelings for him, even if it meant taking Riku out of the picture. Her face still flushed in shame when she thought about how she’d tried to convince Sora to take the raft without the older boy. She didn’t really know why she’d said it—even as the words left her mouth, she knew it felt wrong. In the end, it didn’t even matter since they never actually got to use that raft.

It had seemed like a miracle when she finally got to see both boys together again. Then they had to ruin it by running off to save the worlds, but she couldn’t really blame them for that decision. Especially since they had come back to her. Still, she felt like she needed to do something more. When she’d figured out how to summon her Keyblade on her own, she was ecstatic; this meant she would get to actually do something with them.

While they were training together, she’d been almost shocked to see how well they all got along, like the past three years hadn’t even happened. Unfortunately, that had led to the sudden reemergence of her romantic feelings for them in rather embarrassing ways, despite her resolve to avoid doing anything that could cause problems between them. Knowing Riku had been feeling something very similar made her dizzy with relief.

Then, as she’d been listening to him talk, she’d finally taken the time to truly think about their situation in a way that she hadn’t ever let herself do. Maybe they didn’t have to leave anyone behind, as the adults had said. It would be unorthodox, absolutely, but it would also be something that was uniquely them; a relationship that they all participated in equally. She’d been so excited by her half-formed idea that she’d kissed Riku right then and there, instead of explaining, and now he’d panicked and run off. Which…she really should have seen that coming from the way she’d had to pry the confession from him. And she should go find him before he started freaking out too much.

With a put-upon sigh, she stood up from her spot on the ground. As she walked back to the Tower, she brushed the grass from her skirt and started thinking about the best way to approach this. Riku would be hesitant at first, especially because he didn’t think he deserved nice things anymore. Plus, considering the way she’d botched it a few minutes ago, she’d be lucky to keep him in one spot long enough to explain her idea.

She also needed to talk to Sora, though she was sure he wasn’t going to be opposed to it. That boy was not nearly as subtle as he thought he was, and she’d seen the heated looks he’d been sending to both her and Riku recently. Even though he hadn’t said anything, she would bet munny that he was just as head-over-heels as they were. Though, knowing Sora, he might not have put it all together just yet; he could be really oblivious at times. In any case, Kairi was going to see to it that they all had a nice long talk about their feelings after this.

As she neared the infirmary, she saw that the door was open, though she’d closed it on her way out. Once she got close enough, she could see that Sora and Aqua were deep in conversation. Neither looked up at the sound of her footsteps. Silently, she walked past the door to head deeper into the Tower. Though she could certainly use Sora’s help to persuade Riku to listen to her, she didn’t want to intrude just now. Which meant that she was going to go find Riku first.

Initially, she headed for the den. Usually he tried to hide in there when he was upset, burying his nose in a book like an animal burying its head in the sand. When she got there, however, he was nowhere in sight. What she did see was the first-aid kit they’d left out last night, and she put it away hastily. They’d all been so exhausted the night before that they hadn’t bothered to clean up, and then with everything that had happened this morning she hadn’t noticed it.

After she’d tidied up the room, she walked downstairs to the group of bedrooms the trio used. They didn’t normally spend a lot of time in their individual rooms when they were all here, simply because they preferred to hang out together in the den. Therefore, Kairi wasn’t entirely surprised to see the door to Riku’s room hanging open with the teen noticeably absent. Unfortunately, she was running out of places to look for him without checking behind every closed door in the Tower, which would take hours.

Luckily, she thought to swing by the training room on her way back to the central staircase. She could hear the unique sounds of Keyblade battle coming from the room, muffled as they were by the closed door. Even if she hadn’t seen Sora still in the infirmary a few minutes ago, she doubted he was able to even manage the staircase, let alone swing his Keyblade with any real force. And since Lea hadn’t announced his dramatic return like he usually did, that left only one option.

Sure enough, she opened the door quietly to see Riku throwing himself into a fight with some of the Heartless illusions Yen Sid had created for training. While it had been disconcerting at first, as they looked just a little too real, she had to admit that it had been a good idea. It helped her prepare for the various monsters she’d invariably have to fight. She stepped just inside the door and paused, content to take a moment to watch him fight while he was unaware of her presence.

Even back in the days when he’d had a wooden sword in his hand instead of a Keyblade, Riku had been an excellent fighter. His inborn talent had only blossomed with age. While he and Sora were almost evenly matched in skill, Riku had an innate athleticism that made his movements look effortlessly graceful. She would feel bad for disparaging Sora, even silently, if it hadn’t been the other boy’s observation in the first place. They’d both spent a long time envying their friend for how easily he outfought them, though at least now it took a little longer for him to put them on their asses.

She watched as he swept his Keyblade in a wide arc, easily taking out an entire ring of Shadow Heartless that had surrounded him. In the blink of an eye, he had teleported across the room, bringing his weapon down through the head of another Shadow. He flipped backwards, landing in another small group, and blasted them all with a single burst of Dark Fire. His head jerked to the right as he sensed movement, a brave little Heartless that had stepped towards him. The poor thing didn’t stand a chance; one slash from the Keyblade fractured the illusion.

Riku was so caught up in fighting that it wasn’t until he cleared the room and swept his damp hair back from his face that he noticed her standing by the door. He startled and looked ready to bolt again when she swiftly closed the distance between them and grabbed the arm that was still holding his Keyblade.

“Please don’t run off again,” she begged as she looked into his eyes. Though he still looked uncertain, he nodded and banished his Keyblade. Seeing that he at least planned to let her speak, she released his arm and stood up straight. With Riku being as tall as he was, it didn’t bring her that much closer to eye level, but at least it was something.

“I’m sorry for springing that on you,” she said. Though his face remained impassive, his posture drooped just the tiniest bit. “I’m not saying I regret kissing you,” she continued hastily, “I just know that I should have used my words first.”

Riku drooped further still, and his voice was downright miserable when he spoke. “Kairi, I can’t do this to you, or to Sora. You guys should be together, and my stupid feelings shouldn’t get in the way of that. I’m sorry I told you about it because I don’t want to wreck everything. We can still be friends, and I promise not to make it weird.”

“Don’t say you’re sorry for telling me the truth. And I don’t want you to pretend you don’t care about us. Sora and I, we love you too.” His skeptical look told her that he was going to need a lot more convincing. “Growing up on the Islands, everyone seemed to believe that eventually, two of us were going to become a couple and leave the third person behind. I never thought it would happen because I cared about both of you equally, and I thought it was the same for you guys. Even though I didn’t have the words to describe it, I knew I wanted to be with both of you for the rest of our lives.

“Around the time you and Sora stopped sparring with me, I realized there was something more to that feeling. It seemed like the two of you were pulling away, and it left me devastated. I knew at that point that I wanted to be more than friends, but somehow I wanted that with both of you. I just didn’t know how to say anything. But when you started pushing Sora and me away two years ago, I assumed that you didn’t feel the same way. It wasn’t until all my memories came back last year that I started realizing maybe you did care about me, after the way you helped me get away from Ansem in Hollow Bastion. And when you came to help me in the World That Never Was, I can’t tell you how happy I was to see you again. I was too scared to ask you how you felt, because I didn’t want to be wrong and risk losing the friendship we’ve built. But believe me when I tell you that I love you; for years, I’ve loved you.”

The rigid line of Riku’s back loosened just a little and relief crept into his eyes. However, his voice was still guarded when he said, “But that doesn’t mean Sora feels the same way about me. I know he loves you; I mean, he went tromping though all those worlds looking for you.”

“Looking for us, you mean. He only stopped looking for you when he saw you were safe in Traverse Town, and even then he was planning to find you again once he made sure I was okay. Then, after you guys closed the Door to Darkness, he started searching for you all over again. He refused to come back to the Islands until he brought you back. He’s always cared about you just as much as he cares about me, and honestly I’m a little disappointed that you couldn’t see it.”

“But even if we all love each other, what do we do about it? What _can_ we do about it?” he asked, clearly confused as to why she was bringing this all to light.

She smiled hesitantly, taking a deep breath to calm the nerves that had sprung up suddenly at his question. “We don’t have to be a couple in the traditional sense; we can have a relationship that’s between the three of us, equally. That way, no one gets left out ever again.”

His eyes went wide as he considered the idea. She didn’t blame him for struggling to make sense of her words, since she’d taken years to have her epiphany. He’d been silent for a few minutes when she said, “I know it’s unusual, and we might get some jerks that feel the need to talk shit. But is it really better to all be miserable because we want to avoid guys who don’t know what they’re talking about?”

He pondered that for another couple of seconds. “And is Sora…okay with this? Did you already talk to him?”

“I actually didn’t get the chance to. He was talking to Aqua, and I wanted to catch you before you started regretting all your life choices, though maybe I was a little late on that one.” That got her a weak chuckle. “But, I’m pretty sure he won’t be opposed to my idea. You know he loves me, and I know that he loves you.”

Still hesitating, he said, “I don’t…I don’t know. Maybe I should go and talk to him, first. I need to apologize for what I said earlier, anyway.”

“Did you want me to come along? That way we can both talk to him about it.” He shook his head. She was hurt for a second at his denial, until she realized that he just needed to hear the words from Sora’s own mouth. He’d always been the slowest to act on something since he tended to get stuck on all the ways it could go wrong. He probably didn’t want to get his hopes up about this until he was sure that both the younger teens knew what they were doing. “Alright. I’ll wait here, then. When you make a decision, let me know, okay?”

She locked eyes with him one last time, giving him a small smile before he turned and left the training room. She summoned her Keyblade once the door was closed, intent on doing some physical training despite the exhaustion that still hung over her like a cloud. Maybe beating up some Heartless would make her feel like less of an ass for scaring Riku off earlier. She just hoped that both boys agreed to her offer, because otherwise she wouldn’t know what to do with herself.


	13. The Difference a Keyblade Can Make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aqua finally gets her talk with Sora, and realizes something about herself in the process

Fidgeting in her chair, Aqua sat and waited for Yen Sid to return. She’d told him a few hours ago that she wanted to talk to Sora when he woke up, and he’d agreed that it was a good idea. Once she’d heard that the boy was awake, she’d made her way down here quickly. However, she’d run into Yen Sid in the hallway and he’d asked her to wait until he had the chance to tell Sora about Ven. So here she was, waiting. She’d become bored rather easily, since there wasn’t much in this room to look at. It looked suspiciously like a waiting room, with a few scattered chairs being the only furniture. She wouldn’t put it past Yen Sid to have recently created this room for that purpose, as he seemed to have a well-hidden streak of humor. Sighing, she adjusted her position in the chair for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

It normally wasn’t like her to be so impatient, but then it also wasn’t normally like her to go around knocking teenagers unconscious. Obviously, Sora had been in bad shape, based on what the others had said, but still. She was a Keyblade Master, so she was supposed to know better. It galled her that she had made such a large error in judgment. It had been at least partly due to the fact that she’d been so surprised to hear Sora’s voice sound so much like Vanitas, but she knew that wasn’t really an excuse.

She was so caught up in chiding herself that she missed when the door opened, and Yen Sid stepped inside. She didn’t notice his presence until he stopped in front of her, clearing his throat gently. Her head snapped up at the sound and her cheeks warmed slightly; it seemed like she was determined to act like an apprentice now. “May I go see Sora now, Master Yen Sid?” she asked after a moment of silence.

“I have spoken with him regarding Ventus’s heart. He now understands the task that awaits him, and I believe he will soon be ready for it.” Though it wasn’t quite an affirmation, Aqua started to get up out of her chair, fully intending to head straight down the hall to the infirmary. Her motion faltered when Yen Sid held up a hand. “Before you leave, I must ask: is there something you wish to speak of? You seem preoccupied.”

Aqua hesitated. She was probably just overthinking things; after all, it wasn’t like there was any real reason that Sora should sound so much like Vanitas. So, telling Yen Sid about it was most likely a waste of time. Still, there was a small voice in her head that whispered, _what if she wasn’t mistaken? What if their voices were actually the same?_ So after a moment of thinking it over, she took a decisive breath. “Actually, there is something weird. I’m not sure it makes sense, but…there was something strange about Sora’s voice. He didn’t say much, at the Mansion, but he sounded a lot like Vanitas.”

The old sorcerer never seemed to show much emotion, but even she could read the surprise in his eyes at her statement. It was deeply unsettling. “I could be mistaken, of course,” she said. “It’s been 12 years since I heard Vanitas speaking, so I really could just be wrong.”

Yen Sid folded his arms carefully, eyes closing as he composed himself once more. “Hmm, I had not considered that,” he said, more to himself than to Aqua. “It is certainly a possibility.” Aqua wasn’t quite sure what to do, since she didn’t want to disrupt the former Keyblade Master while he was so deep in thought. She stood there silently and waited.

Suddenly, Yen Sid’s eyes opened again. “I will need to consult the stars on this matter, as I do not wish to speak hastily. Perhaps they will have more knowledge of this.” With that, he turned and left the room. For a moment she simply stood there, blinking at his sudden departure. Then, she remembered that she’d been waiting down here for a reason. Taking a deep breath to brace herself, she walked out of the room she was currently in and then down the hall to where Sora was. She gave a soft knock on the closed door.

When she heard a muffled “come in,” she opened the door carefully and stepped inside. Sora was still on the bed and he was currently shoveling food into his mouth from a tray that sat on his lap. When he saw her, though, he quickly swallowed what had been in his mouth and turned to set the tray down. She saw him wince at the movement, which only served to make her feel more guilty than she already did.

“Are you alright? I could cast a Cure spell for you, if you’re hurt at all,” she offered gently. He looked over at her, giving her a friendly smile that reminded her painfully of Ventus.

“Nah, I’m fine. Falling isn’t exactly something I enjoy, but it happens. I’m just a little bit sore, nothing to worry about.” Somehow she doubted that, but she wasn’t going to be rude enough to voice that doubt. Not yet, at least. From what she’d gathered about his friends, they’d find out if he were indeed lying.

Instead of replying, she sat down in the chair on the left side of the bed. At first, an awkward silence settled on them. Aqua wasn’t quite sure how to even begin apologizing to him, and it seemed that Sora was equally speechless. He finally broke the silence after a few minutes.

“So, I guess I have you to thank for getting me back here,” he said, lifting his arm to scratch nervously at his head. Again, pain flickered across his features, but Aqua decided to let it go unmentioned.

“It was the least I could do, considering that I’m the reason you were unconscious. And King Mickey helped, as well.” Despite their drastic height difference, she had been grateful to have his help. Even if it hadn’t been her first time carrying a sleeping teenage boy.

“Part of the reason I wanted to talk to you right now is to apologize for my actions. I didn’t mean to use such a powerful spell on you, and we’re both lucky that you weren’t more seriously hurt. I let my magic get away from me, and I am truly sorry for that.” Unable to keep eye contact with Sora while she spoke, she now stared determinedly at her hands, which she’d folded in her lap. She was thoroughly ashamed of herself for losing control the way she had. _Maybe I’m not Master material anymore_ , she thought sadly. _After all that time in the Darkness, maybe I don’t deserve that title._

A tanned hand reached into her line of vision, settling on her own hands with a comforting grip. Looking up, she saw that Sora had reached over to shake her out of her misery. His eyes were gentle and kind.

“Hey, it was an accident, right? There’s no reason to beat yourself up about it. Besides, it’s really my own fault that I took it so hard; there’s no way you could have known that would happen.” Even if she couldn’t let go of the shame entirely, the sincerity and forgiveness in Sora’s voice was incredibly reassuring. Her eyes watered just a little as relief flooded her body.

“You really do remind me so much of Ventus,” she blurted out. When he flinched just slightly at the name, she cursed herself for bringing it up so abruptly. “It’s not just that you have his heart, though,” she said, trying to make things better. “I thought that from the moment I first met you.”

“On Destiny Islands, right? Riku and I saw you walking around on the Play Island, and then you came to talk to us.” So he did remember that day, then. She nodded.

“Actually, seeing you two together reminded me of Terra and Ventus. That’s why I stopped to talk to you, even if I wasn’t really supposed to.” After all, meddling too much in the affairs of other worlds was forbidden, but something had drawn her to the two young boys.

“That’s when you made me promise that I would help Riku if he ever gave in to darkness.” His face was contemplative as he struggled to remember. She’d originally planned to grant Sora the ability to summon a Keyblade, but had changed her mind when she’d sensed that Terra had already done so with Riku. In her admittedly frazzled mind, if only one of them had a Keyblade, maybe their friendship would survive more easily. They wouldn’t have the rivalry that had torn Terra away from her and Ven so completely.

“From what I hear, that’s exactly what you’ve done.” She couldn’t help but smile sadly at the love that she’d already witnessed in the trio. She’d stopped by the infirmary once while Sora was still asleep, carrying a tray full of food for them. Pausing by the door, she’d seen the other two teenagers speaking quietly over the sleeping boy. Kairi had been running her fingers through his hair, and Riku had been looking down at him with such a softly concerned face that for a moment, the figures had blurred. Brown hair became blond, and instead of Kairi and Riku, she saw Terra and herself hovering over the bed.

The moment had passed, and she had forced her body to start walking again. Neither teen had noticed her stopping by the door, but they both turned and thanked her when she reached the bedside. It was clear that there really wasn’t much that could tear these three apart.

“Of course! Riku is my best friend—well, he’s one of them. We hadn’t met Kairi yet when you came to the Islands, but I think she got there not too long after that. Since then, it’s been the three of us together.”

“And now all three of you wield Keyblades,” she said just a little nervously. “Did that change anything between you three?”

“Nah,” he said, grinning. “If anything, we had more trouble when we _didn’t_ all have them.”

She paused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, at first I was the only one who had a Keyblade. And since Maleficent was manipulating Riku with the darkness, he thought there was only one and he tried to take it from me. We ended up fighting a lot, and when I beat him, Ansem—uh, Xehanort’s Heartless—tricked him into opening his heart to him.”

As he continued to tell her about his adventure, Aqua felt the blood start to drain from her face. Secrecy had always been unavoidable when it came to Keyblades, and she had no doubt that Terra had impressed that need for silence on Riku. Even so, if she’d offered Sora the Bequeathing Ceremony, as she’d planned, maybe the two boys could have worked around it. They might have avoided one of the biggest obstacles their friendship had faced, if she hadn’t been so caught up in her own problems.

She’d blamed the distance that had cropped up between her and the two boys on the rivalry between Keyblade Wielders, but now she realized that Keyblades had never been the real problem. Sure, Terra’s disappointment at failing the Mark of Mastery exam had been a starting point, but she knew now that the real wedge between them had formed the minute Xehanort interfered. He’d played into Terra’s insecurities, manipulating him every step of the way. And she’d let it happen, too caught up in her new duties to see what was happening.

Ven…he’d been impatient to visit the other worlds, to do something that both his friends were already doing. She—they, really—had been smothering him, and he’d lashed out in the only way he could. Sure, he was still young. But the boy in front of her was likely the same age Ventus had been, and he was already fully capable of saving the Realm of Light. As Sora told her about how excited Kairi had been to finally get to train with the boys and help them save the worlds, Aqua finally lost all her careful control. Her eyes filled with tears, and even though she reached her hands up to cover her face, Sora stopped talking suddenly.

“Uhh…Aqua, are you alright? What did I say?” He was clearly uncomfortable, seeing Aqua break down in front of him. It took her a long moment to compose herself, but finally she was able to wipe away the tears that had run down her face.

“It seems like I owe you another apology,” she said shakily. The utter confusion on Sora’s face might have made her laugh, any other time.

“What for?”

“When I met you and Riku on the Islands, I had been planning on performing the Bequeathing Ceremony with you.” At his blank look, she tried to find a way to explain concisely. “You would have been able to summon your own Keyblade, once you were old enough. But when I started talking to the both of you, I realized that Riku had already been given one.”

“By Terra, right? He mentioned something like that, after training one day.” She nodded as she struggled to find the words she needed to say.

“Since Riku was already destined to become a Keyblade Wielder, I…I decided not to give you one, as well. I didn’t want you two to fight the way my friends and I did. Or at least, the way I thought we did. I realize now that the Keyblade was never the cause of our problems, but I used it as an easy excuse. If I’d performed the Ceremony that day with you, maybe you and Riku wouldn’t have fought. And maybe you would have been better off.” Sora sat and looked at her for a long moment, stunned. She squirmed guiltily under his gaze.

Finally, he seemed to snap out of it. “Yeah, I guess that would have been convenient.” She felt the breath leave her body, waiting for the anger that she deserved. But she wasn’t prepared for the way his eyes softened as he took in her stiff posture. “But it doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s in the past, and there’s no point in talking about changing it. We’re all here, right where we need to be. Besides, who’s to say that it would have changed anything? Xehanort’s been manipulating us all this whole time, and I doubt something as simple as that would have stopped him. He would have just found another way.”

Aqua was used to being the calm, collected voice of reason. Even when she was in the Realm of Darkness, she hadn’t cried. Yet here she was, nose running and eyes puffy, while the usually carefree boy in front of her spouted wisdom far beyond his years. It was almost disconcerting to hear the words come out of his mouth. Not because she thought he was stupid; she’d spent too much time with Ventus to be fooled. They could definitely come off as naïve and gullible at times. But where most people would believe them to be simple-minded, she saw beyond it. The two boys saw and understood things in a way that was sometimes breathtaking, like right now.

Of course, then he ruined it by huffing out a breath and saying, “I can’t wait to kick that old geezer’s ass.” She couldn’t help it; she burst out laughing. Judging by the brief look of triumph on Sora’s face, she thought that it might have been the intended effect. She still felt ashamed for completely losing control of herself, but in a way, she felt better for it. For so long, she’d been focused on being strong and keeping herself together. She’d always been on edge and waiting for the next attack. Now, she felt like she could let down her walls and really feel the grief she’d been putting off for 12 years. After all, it wasn’t like anyone here was going to judge her for it.

Just then, she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway. She turned and saw Riku standing there, hand rubbing his neck awkwardly. From the way Sora’s cheeks flushed, she got the feeling that they needed to talk to each other. Standing quickly, she said, “Well, you might have to get in line for that, Sora.”

There was a brief pause as he gave her a confused look, before he realized what she meant. He gave a short chuckle as she turned to leave. As she neared the door, she slowed and placed a hand on Riku’s shoulder. He stiffened for only a moment, before he whispered, “Thank you.” She didn’t respond, simply giving him a small smile as she stepped out of the infirmary and closed the door behind her. She got the feeling that Riku, at least, would appreciate the privacy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It always bothered me that Aqua decides not to give Sora a Keyblade just because Riku had already been given one (in case you couldn't tell). Her reasoning seemed so at odds with her normal behavior as such a logical character, and the only way I could understand it is if she let her emotions get the best of her in that moment. I really want her to realize that it was a bad decision, though I doubt it will happen in canon. So, I made it happen here.


	14. In His Own Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku tells Sora about Kairi's proposal and finds out about another secret that Sora's been keeping

Sora looked at the silver-haired boy standing near the door, and he had to admit that he was nervous. He knew he needed to apologize, but the words dried up in his mouth as he looked at his friend. Riku seemed to be equally at a loss for words, so they stared at each other for a few minutes.

Finally, Riku huffed out a short breath and came over to stand next to the bed, though he still looked uncertain. He made no motion to sit in either chair. Sora rolled his eyes, grabbing Riku’s hand and pulling down until the older teen sat down abruptly. Expecting his hand to be released immediately, Sora’s eyes widened when Riku instead gripped it more tightly. Based on the subtle pink color of his cheeks, the gesture was intentional.

His hand tingling at the contact, Sora cleared his throat. Before he could actually say anything, Riku interrupted him.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I was out of line with that comment about you playing hero.” Even if his voice wasn’t conciliatory enough, one look in his eyes told Sora just how sorry he really was.

“You aren’t the only one who said something they regret. I shouldn’t have brought up any of that stuff with Ansem.” As soon as the words had left his mouth earlier, Sora had wanted to snatch them back. Seeing the pain flare up in Riku’s eyes simply hadn’t been worth the petty satisfaction he’d gotten for snapping back. Especially when the next second, he’d watched those same eyes grow shuttered and empty like they did when Riku shut down. They were doing something similar right now, actually.

“You were just being honest, it’s fine—” Riku’s turquoise eyes slid casually away from his, landing squarely on the opposite wall as he spoke.

“Hey, no, it’s not fine,” Sora said before Riku could continue to reason it away. “I said it because I knew it would hurt you, and that wasn’t okay. It was completely unfair, and we both know it.” When Riku only gave him a weak smile without meeting his gaze, Sora reached over and grabbed his friend’s other hand. The movement startled Riku into making eye contact.

Speaking slowly to emphasize his words, Sora said, “You shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells with me. You’re one of my best friends, so it’s your job to tell me when I’m being a jerk.”

“Well, you were being a jerk,” Riku said carefully, as if he still wasn’t sure it was okay to say that. Sora gave him an encouraging grin, though he didn’t let go of Riku’s hands. If he was being honest with himself, he liked the contact a little too much.

“And of course I forgive you. Besides, you were right,” Sora said with a resigned sigh. “I thought I was doing the right thing in trying to bring Roxas back, so I didn’t want to hear or think about how dangerous it was. It was a really dumb plan.”

“Well, gee, you think?” Though the words could have been cruel, the teasing tone Riku used softened the bite. Sora had to laugh, glad that Riku’s inner smartass was making a reappearance. For a moment, they just grinned stupidly at each other.

“So I noticed that Aqua was in here with you, just now,” Riku said carefully. He was clearly curious as to what they’d been talking about, but he didn’t want to admit it.

“Yeah, we were actually talking about a lot of things. Including the day we met her on Destiny Islands.” Sora was still reeling from Aqua’s admission that she’d almost given him a Keyblade that day. It was clear that she felt enormously guilty for it when she told him earlier, and the desire to comfort her had pushed away any lingering resentment he might have felt.

Besides, he’d meant what he told her: no matter how they got there, he and his friends were right where they needed to be. They were going to come together and save the Realm of Light from Xehanort’s plan because that’s what they were meant to do. Even with all the doubt swirling in his head, he knew that much with every fiber of his being.

Realizing that Riku was still waiting for an explanation, he knew he needed to find a gentle way to approach this. He pulled his hands back from Riku’s and took a deep breath.

“Aqua was planning to do a Bequeathing Ceremony with me that day. She decided against it when she realized Terra had already done one with you.” _Or I could just blurt it out_. If he didn’t already have a wicked headache courtesy of his exhaustion and the ever-present pain in his ribs, he would have slapped himself.

To his credit, Riku didn’t freak out. His eyes got wide and his jaw dropped, but that was it. He recovered quickly enough and closed his mouth, though he still seemed a little bit speechless.

“She thought it might lead to us fighting, and she didn’t want to ruin our friendship. I guess she was having issues with Terra and Ventus, and she thought that the competition between them was the problem.” He made an aborted move to rub his neck, but put his arm down when he felt a sharp stab of pain in his chest. It was starting to get annoying, how his ribs flared up with every tiny movement.

“Yeah, because there’s no way you and I would ever be competitive, right?” Riku said weakly. He still looked like he was trying to figure out how he felt about it, but sarcasm was a good sign.

“I told her it wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. Even if she’d given me a Keyblade that day, it wouldn’t have changed anything that happened. Xehanort used us all.”

Riku sighed, looking contemplative. “You’re right about that. The whole nonsense about the Keyblade was only part of the problem. Even if we’d both had one, Ansem and Maleficent would still have used everything else against me.”

Now this, he hadn’t heard before. “And what exactly is ‘everything else’, huh?” He’d meant it playfully enough, but he was a little taken aback by the way Riku paled just a little.

“That’s actually…part of the reason I came to see you. I wanted to apologize to you, but I also had…something else to talk about.” Riku seemed to stumble over the words, which was surprising. The older teen had always been the smoothest talker out of all of them, the one who always had a smart response planned out. Hearing him struggle to speak was a new—and very confusing—experience. Then again, it wasn’t too often that Sora or Kairi could actually get him to talk about his feelings.

“Well, the biggest thing Maleficent used to make me do what she wanted…was Kairi. She convinced me that you didn’t care about her, and that you weren’t going to save her.” That made sense—some of the more pointed comments he’d made at that time were about protecting her. “It pissed me off to think that you didn’t care. So it became my job to help her, and to do what you wouldn’t. Of course, everything got a little blurry there at the end, once Ansem started talking more directly to me. But a lot of what I did was to save Kairi, even though it was all wrong. They used my feelings for her as a weapon.”

It shouldn’t hurt that much to hear that Riku cared about Kairi. It wasn’t like Sora didn’t already know that; as much as Riku had tried to play that whole “paopu fruit bet” off as a joke, Sora couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been at least a little bit genuine. Still, it felt like a knife was twisting in his heart, just a little.

His silence seemed to unnerve Riku, who started to look more and more uncomfortable. “Shit, maybe I should have had Kairi come down with me,” he mumbled. “This is her idea, anyway.”

“What idea?” Sora asked. Honestly, this conversation was just confusing him more than anything.

“Kairi kissed me.” As soon as the words were out, Riku actually slapped his hand over his mouth. _At least I’m not the only one with word vomit today_. That thought distracted him for a second, until Riku’s words actually hit home.

Oh.

_Oh._

Sora wished he could say he was surprised, but he really wasn’t. Riku was incredibly attractive, and so was Kairi. _Never mind that it was a strange thing to notice about your totally platonic best friends_ ; they were just objectively beautiful. Of course they were going to end up together. He pasted a bright smile on his face, despite the fact that his heart was breaking a little.

“Wow, that’s really awesome. You guys make a great couple.” He was supposed to congratulate them, right? It seemed like the right thing to do.

“No, that’s not…ugh,” Riku groaned, covering his face with his hands. “I’m messing this up so bad.”

“Riku, what are you even talking about?”

“Sora, I love you.” He just stared at Riku for a second, convinced he’d managed to knock something loose in his head sometime in the past few days, because he didn’t understand what was going on.

“Uhh…what?” he said eloquently. Riku was completely flustered now, face beet-red and mouth working as he tried to keep talking.

“I didn’t come down here to tell you that Kairi’s my…she had an idea that’s a little bit crazy, but it just might work.”

“Okay, I’m going to need you to really spell this out for me, because you aren’t making any sense.”

At that, Riku closed his mouth and took a deep breath in through his nose. “Sora, I love you. I also love Kairi. And she told me just now that she feels the same; she loves both of us. She thinks that all three of us can be together in a relationship, if that’s something that we want to do.”

This time it was Sora’s jaw that dropped practically to the floor. He’d never been able to put words to the feelings he had about Riku and Kairi, but now something clicked into place: he loved them. He actually felt a little stupid that it had taken him this long to realize it, but it wasn’t the first time he’d missed something that was so obvious. And hearing Riku say that they could all be together was like something straight out of a dream. It seemed almost too easy, but maybe they’d been making it too complicated for much too long.

“Yes,” he said, startling Riku. The other boy looked like he’d been holding his breath, and his face was just the tiniest bit green.

At his response, Riku sat back from where he’d been perched on the edge of the chair. “Yes, what?” he asked breathlessly.

“Yes, I love you. Yes, I love Kairi. And yes, I want to date both of you,” Sora responded firmly, wanting to make sure there was no more miscommunication. Then he smiled jubilantly, opening his arms to fling himself onto Riku.

“Hold on,” Riku said as he held up a hand. “I haven’t agreed to it, yet.”

Deflated, Sora’s smile slipped from his face as his arms fell to his side again. “But…I thought…then why did you bring it up, if you didn’t want to?”

“I needed to know how you felt about me, and I needed to hear it specifically from you,” Riku said. “And I’m not exactly saying no. It’s just that…I’m not sure I’m ready for it.” He sighed, looking down the hands he’d folded together in his lap.

Not wanting to push his limit, Sora let his hand hover where he’d started to reach for Riku’s shoulder. Hesitantly, he asked, “Why not?”

Riku lifted his head and caught his eyes. “Because I hurt you. I hurt you and Kairi both, and nothing I do will ever change that,” he said softly. Sora sucked in a breath at the lost look in his blue-green eyes.

Coming to a decision, he closed the distance between them and placed a soft kiss on Riku’s lips. It was chaste and sweet, and it was over before Riku could second-guess it and pull away.

When Sora opened his eyes—which he hadn’t even realized had closed—Riku was staring straight ahead like he’d been hit with a Thunder spell. Thankfully, he was too out of it to notice the slight grimace of pain Sora couldn’t hide as he leaned back on the bed.

For a few seconds, Riku only stared at the wall, and Sora started to worry that his brain had short-circuited. Finally, it seemed that his brain rebooted, because he shook his silver hair and the corners of his mouth lifted.

“Maybe you hurt us at one time, but you and I both know that you’d rather die than hurt me or Kairi again,” Sora said gently. “We already forgave you; maybe what you really need to do is to forgive yourself.”

Huffing out a breath that could have been a laugh, Riku’s face softened into an amused expression. “Are you going to give me the puppy-dog eyes until I give in?”

Sora pretended to consider that, but then he said, “Nah. I’ll let you think about it for a little while, before I pull out the big guns.”

“Alright,” Riku said. Then, he stood up and glanced towards the door. “I should go; you really need to rest. And you’re under strict orders to sleep down here, at least for tonight.”

“Wait, does that mean you’ll actually think about it?” Riku’s only response was a sly smile, and Sora groaned. “Come on, Riku, you can’t leave me hanging like that. Besides, I just woke up. I don’t need sleep right now.” The frown that had formed on his face only deepened when the older boy just chuckled.

“I’m not leaving forever, I’ll be back in the morning. And are you really telling me that Sora, the king of napping, doesn’t want to sleep? I guess there’s a first time for everything,” he teased. Sora knew he was pouting now, but it only served to make Riku laugh harder. Despite the fact that he knew Riku was very much laughing at him, he felt the corners of his mouth tug upward just slightly.

“Fine. But you’d better be back here tomorrow morning, and you’d better have at least considered what I said. If you’re not down here, I’m just going to come up there and find you.”

“Good luck climbing all those stairs by yourself, wise guy. I doubt you can even get out of that bed, let alone out of this room.” Sensing a challenge and determined to prove him wrong, Sora started struggling to get up again. Riku’s laughter cut off abruptly as concern took over his face. “Sora, I was kidding. Don’t actually try to get up.”

Sora ignored him, continuing his flailing as he untangled himself from the blanket. As he sat up, Riku put a restraining hand on his chest. Unfortunately, his hand pressed right up against Sora’s ribs, and he couldn’t bite back the soft noise of pain he made. This time, luck was against him and he could tell from the hard look in Riku’s eyes that the older teen hadn’t missed the sound.

“Sora, are you kidding me? Why didn’t you say something earlier?” Exasperation crept into Riku’s voice as he walked over to the supply closet where they kept the majority of their healing items. Sora could hear him rummaging through the various bottles. He finally returned with a glass bottle that glowed a soft green: a Potion.

“I think Kairi might have used the last Elixir the other day, since I don’t see any more in there,” he was saying. “All we have left is Potions, so we’ll need to buy more supplies soon.” He handed the bottle to Sora, sitting down and eyeing him expectantly.

Sora complied quickly, if only to show that he could be cooperative sometimes. He popped the top off the bottle and drank the Potion down in two gulps, then wiped his mouth off on the back of his hand. Riku gave him a short nod of approval before reaching over to grab the empty bottle.

As the restorative worked, Sora had to admit that it had been a good idea. The onslaught of pain he’d been feeling since he first woke up had already started to fade away. He took a deep breath—just to test it out—and almost gave a celebratory fist pump when it didn’t feel like someone was stabbing him in the chest. Riku watched him with amusement, as if he could tell what Sora was thinking.

As the pain faded, Sora’s eyelids grew heavier. He didn’t fight it this time when Riku said he was going to bed. Still, watching his friend stand to leave made his stomach clench painfully. “Riku, wait,” he said, his arm shooting out to grab the other boy’s hand once again. Riku paused. “Will you just…stay here until I fall asleep? Please?” With all the strange dreams he’d been having lately, he didn’t really want to be left alone. He knew Riku would be going upstairs once he was asleep, but just having him here for a little while would make him feel better.

Riku seemed to hesitate for a minute, a question flickering in his eyes. He must have seen something in Sora’s face in answer, because he nodded and sat down once more. Sora felt the twisting in his gut subside, and his face slid into a pleased grin. He settled down more comfortably on the bed, but didn’t bother to release Riku’s hand.

Instead, he carefully laced their fingers together, not letting his smile slip at all despite the widening of Riku’s eyes. Once he’d found a good position lying back on the pillows, he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him and he closed his eyes. Just before he let his fatigue sweep him away, he felt the cautious touch of lips on his forehead. He sighed happily and breathed out, “I love you, Riku.”


	15. The Heart Of The Matter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku has a dream and finally makes a decision

Riku watched Sora’s breathing slow down as he fell asleep. He’d always been one of those people who could fall asleep as if it were the easiest thing in the world. When they’d been kids working on their raft, it had been annoying: any time he was left alone for longer than 30 seconds, he’d be taking a nap. Now, it was almost sweet, the way his breathing slowed and his face went slack not even two minutes after he closed his eyes.

When he was sure that Sora was dead to the world, Riku gently pried his fingers from where the younger boy still had a surprisingly firm grip on them and stood up from his chair. He moved quietly towards the exit, even though he knew that Sora could sleep through almost anything. As he shut the door behind him, he slumped heavily against it for a moment.

Now that he wasn’t anxious about Sora’s wellbeing or keyed up from Kairi’s unexpected kiss, he was starting to realize just how tired he was. With everything that had been going on, they’d been keeping strange hours and he honestly had no idea what time it was. And despite his promise to find Kairi after he’d talked with Sora, he knew he wasn’t ready to give her an answer just yet.

He hadn’t been lying when he told Sora that he wasn’t sure he was ready to be with them like that. Though he had to admit, he really, _really_ wanted to. Just hearing Sora say those three little words had made his heart skip a few beats, and he couldn’t regret his boldness in pressing that soft kiss to the other boy’s forehead. But even as his mouth curled into a tiny smile at the memory, he also felt doubt swirling uneasily in the pit of his stomach. What could he possibly have to offer his two wonderful friends, besides pain and suffering?

_Maybe what you really need to do is forgive yourself._ It wasn’t like he hadn’t heard the words before. Hell, Kairi had said something similar when they’d been talking outside the Tower, and even that hadn’t been the first time he’d heard the sentiment. The problem was Riku didn’t really know if he even _could_ forgive himself after everything he’d done. Could he really bring himself to let go of the guilt and shame that had been driving him for so long?

Ever since they’d been reunited, he’d apologized to the other two as often as they’d let him. At first, they’d accepted it reluctantly, though they’d told him it wasn’t necessary. After the first few times, though, they’d stopped him mid-sentence. He knew they didn’t like it; that much was evident from the pained look on their faces whenever he managed to get it out. But he just couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t deserve to be here right now, with all of his friends. And if he didn’t deserve that, he definitely didn’t deserve to have an actual relationship with the two people he’d loved secretly for almost as long as he could remember.

Sighing, Riku knocked his head gently against the door he was still leaning against. Sora and Kairi had made it sound so easy and natural, but what if it wasn’t? Maybe it wouldn’t work out, and their friendship would suffer because of the strain. Maybe this would be the thing that completely destroyed their friendship. Rationally, he knew he was freaking out. Still, he couldn’t seem to stop imagining all the worst-case scenarios. It was probably time to go to bed.

He pushed off the door carefully, still wary of making too much noise. Making his way quietly back upstairs to the wing of bedrooms, he hoped that Kairi wasn’t there to catch him and make him follow up on his promise. Thankfully, when he reached the three adjacent bedrooms, he saw that her door was closed and the light appeared to be off. She’d probably gone to sleep a little while ago, exhausted after their vigil at Sora’s bedside. He’d definitely hear from her in the morning, but at least he still had a few hours to himself to think.

He padded silently to his own room and shut the door. It only took him a few minutes to get ready for bed, during which his brain was remarkably quiet. The moment he actually laid down in bed, though, the dark thoughts returned.

Despite how tired he was, sleep refused to come to him. Whenever he closed his eyes, it was like someone was playing a movie about all the things he’d done wrong in the last few years and he had a front row seat. He tossed and turned, trying to get away from the images that made his face burn. There was one scene in particular that stuck out to him, more so than almost anything else. He was standing on the beach in Destiny Islands, looking up at a tall man with brown hair and kind eyes; Terra. _Strength, to protect what matters_.

His own words echoed mockingly in his head, reminding him with every repetition that he’d failed over and over. He’d promised to always stand up for his friends, but he’d left them behind at the first opportunity. He wished he could go back to the younger version of himself and warn him that whatever Ansem promised him wasn’t worth it. He would tell himself to spend all the time that he could with Sora and Kairi, since Ansem had never dared to approach him with the others there. Even as he fought off his mounting jealousy and resentment, the sunsets he spent on the play island with his two friends were some of his fondest memories. He could almost hear the crashing of the ocean and the soft calls of the seagulls—no, wait, he actually did hear those sounds. He didn’t know when it had happened, but he was no longer in his bed at the Tower.

Though his eyes were closed, he knew he was sitting on the tree— _their tree—_ back on Destiny Islands. He could sense Sora and Kairi on either side of him. Kairi sat on the tree to his left while Sora stood on the ground to his right, lounging back against the tree trunk. Usually, Riku made a conscious effort not to be in the middle of the other two, so the fact that they currently surrounded him made him uneasy. On top of that, they were entirely too close to him, and with every breath he brushed against Kairi’s thigh or Sora’s arm. The sensation gave him goose bumps.

No one said anything for a while, and they sat in comfortable silence. At least, he thought it was probably comfortable for the other two. He was practically sweating from his internal struggle, desperately wanting to move away while simultaneously craving their presence. Finally, Kairi seemed to notice his stiff posture, just as Riku finally opened his eyes.

“Hey, Riku, what’s wrong? You’ve got that look on your face, the one that makes you look like you’re having an internal crisis,” she asked, turning towards him and placing a hand gently on his thigh. At her words, Sora’s head whipped around to give both of them an assessing glance.

As Riku remained silent, Sora’s expression turned worried and he moved until he was standing in front of the older boy, his hands on Riku’s knees. The sincere look in his deep blue eyes made Riku’s heart flutter just as much as the casual contact did.

The other two continued to look at him, and he knew they were waiting for him to speak.

“I-it’s nothing,” he said. Their twin looks of skepticism pulled a sigh from him, because he never could seem to fool them, these days. “I just feel like I don’t belong here, with you guys. I don’t deserve this.” Almost before the words had completely left his mouth, however, both teens were shaking their heads in vehement denial.

“That’s bullshit, Riku,” Sora said. His harsh tone did more to grab Riku’s attention than his words did. “You’ve worked just as hard as we have, if not harder. You overcame your inner darkness, became a Keyblade Master, and you kept both of us safe whenever you could. Besides,” Sora’s voice became a little softer as he continued, “no one ever really gets what they ‘deserve’, do they? If they did, then Terra would still be his own person, Ventus would be awake, and Aqua would never have gotten trapped in the Realm of Darkness. We want to be here with you, and you want to be here with us. Why should anything stop us from being together?”

Riku sat there, stunned. He wasn’t surprised that Sora had said something really smart; he was well aware that Sora was downright brilliant underneath the gullible façade. It was just that, suddenly, he felt incredibly stupid.

For so many years, he’d wanted something he thought he could never have. He’d been tormented by his own jealousy, had let it warp his perception until he nearly destroyed everything he loved. So now, when he was presented with the thing he wanted most, why was he hesitating? Despite how truly guilty he felt, he also knew that it wasn’t the entire answer. He’d certainly been selfish enough before, so why was this any different?

With a jolt that nearly knocked him off the tree, Riku finally realized what had been holding him back. “I…I’m afraid. Sometimes I think that this all has to be a dream or something, because there’s no way everything works out this well. I guess I’m still waiting for one of you to push me away, and tell me you were just kidding.”

The effect of his words on the other two teens was immediate: they both reeled back like they’d been slapped, and he had to bite his tongue against the urge to apologize again.

“Do you really think we would do something like that?” Sora’s voice and face were carefully blank, which was actually disconcerting coming from him. He usually wore his heart on his sleeve, something that Riku had always loved about him.

“Of course not,” he reassured them. He didn’t think they were actually that heartless. “It’s just that my brain can’t seem to make sense of the fact that you both love me as much as I love you.”

The two younger teens shared a charged look and then turned their focus back on Riku, who promptly looked at the ground to avoid meeting their eyes. “We don’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable,” Kairi said. “If you don’t want to do this, then that’s okay. We’ll be fine. But we both really want you, and you don’t have to worry that we’ll change our minds.” She placed her hand on his thigh again, prompting him to look up at her. “All you have to worry about is letting us know if you want this. We can deal with everything else later.”

And just like that, he felt every bit of doubt leave his body. They probably wouldn’t have an easy path ahead of them, especially since this kind of relationship was unheard of back on the Islands. Not to mention that they still had a giant battle to fight, and no one knew how it was going to play out. But he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to fight for this, for the two people that meant everything to him. He wanted this more than anything he’d ever wanted before, and he couldn’t deny himself any longer.

Kairi and Sora were still looking at him with concerned eyes, waiting for him to make his decision. After a split second of hesitation, Riku opted for action rather than words. Sora flinched slightly in surprise as the older boy took his face in both hands and leaned down to line their mouths up. The position wasn’t exactly ideal, despite Sora’s recent growth spurt shortening the distance between them, but Riku made do. Sora gave a happy little sigh, and Riku took advantage of his open mouth to deepen the kiss for a long moment.

When Riku finally pulled back, he only got a glimpse of Sora’s dumbstruck expression as he turned quickly to Kairi. She was ready for him, having gotten a little more warning, and she pulled his mouth to hers eagerly. Since they were both sitting, the height difference was more comfortable, especially once Kairi looped her arms around his neck.

Riku pulled back shortly, attempting to be fair, even if the heated look in Sora’s wide blue eyes told him it was unnecessary. For a moment, they all just sat quietly, catching their breath.

Finally, Kairi laughed and said, “So, looks like you made a decision, huh?” Sora cackled as Riku’s face split into a grin.

“Yeah, I guess I have.”

Just then, a knock on the door jolted him awake. Even though he’d suspected it was a dream, he was still a little disappointed that it hadn’t actually happened. He stayed in bed for another few minutes, until the knocking came again.

“Come on, Riku, it’s time to get up,” came Donald’s voice from the other side of the door. That was definitely one thing Riku hadn’t missed while he was gone; Donald and Goofy liked to take turns acting as the responsible parent and waking them all up. They’d been kind enough not to do so the day after the fight with Vanitas, but clearly, that kindness didn’t extend to today.

“I’m coming,” Riku called out, just to let them know he was awake. If he didn’t, they’d be pounding on the door again in two minutes. Resigning himself to consciousness, he dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror there, bracing himself to go and talk to Kairi. It had seemed so much easier in his dream, but right now, he just felt slightly nauseous. Even so, he hadn’t changed his mind: he wanted to date Sora and Kairi, and he needed to talk to them in order to actually express that. So, he took one last deep breath and stood up straight, turning to the door before he lost his resolve.


	16. Riku Plays Pack Mule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku tells Kairi about his decision, and they go together to see Sora

Kairi frowned as she heard knocking on her bedroom door, less than a minute after the previous bout. Normally it wouldn’t bother her that much, but she was still feeling a little off balance from everything that had been going on. On top of that, she’d had a dream last night that had felt almost too real, and she wasn’t sure how to move past it yet. Suffice to say she wasn’t exactly in the mood for dealing with nonsense.

“I already told you, I’m awake,” she said irritably as she crossed the room and opened the door. She was ready to get a face-full of grumpy duck, and was therefore taken aback when she saw Riku standing there instead. He was slouching with both hands in his jean pockets, but his expression was open and anxious. “Oh, it’s you,” she said lamely. She’d gone to bed after about 20 minutes of training with the Heartless illusions, simultaneously too exhausted and too restless to continue. Though she had told Riku she’d be waiting for his answer, she also knew that he’d probably want to brood for a little while longer. And honestly, now that he was clearly waiting here for her, she could admit that she was nervous about what he would say.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, clearly struggling to find the right words. Kairi knew she had to be patient, especially after she tried to push him so hard yesterday.

Finally, Riku got a strange look in his eye, so determined and fierce that for a moment, Kairi was almost uneasy. When he stepped closer, she had to fight off the urge to take a step back, even though she knew that the older teen wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. He gripped her face in his hands with a gentleness that was at odds with the look on his face, but Kairi relaxed when she realized what he planned to do.

His mouth met hers in a careful, tentative kiss, but she didn’t let him keep it chaste for too long. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Given that he was more than a foot taller than her, there was a hard limit to how close they could be while both standing, but she pulled him as close to her as possible. The sudden motion dazed Riku just enough that he parted his lips, and Kairi used the opportunity to trace the line of his top teeth gently. He took the hint and deepened the kiss just a little more, tightening his arms around her waist. Soon, Kairi’s head was spinning, and not just from the lack of air.

When she pulled back to catch her breath, she smirked at Riku and asked, “So, looks like you made a decision, huh?” Her smug expression only grew as his face paled a little, and he gulped nervously.

“I’m guessing that wasn’t just a normal dream, then,” he said after a moment.

“Nope,” she responded, unable to hold back her laughter anymore at the pained look on Riku’s face.

“Well, that’s not exactly the way I’d planned to do that, but I guess it’s a little late for second guessing.” He moved to begin untangling their limbs, but Kairi only held on tighter.

“You are _not_ getting rid of me that easily. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this?” Despite her best efforts, she knew he was still stronger than her, and it was only a matter of time before he managed to peel her off. That didn’t stop her from holding on as tight as she could.

“I really, _really_ do, but don’t you think we should go see Sora and let him know? We can’t exactly do that if we stay tied up in a knot right here.” She paused a moment to consider it, and realized that she very much wanted to see the other boy. However, she also didn’t want to relinquish her grip on Riku just yet, since she couldn’t shake the irrational thought that he would try to disappear again.

Sensing that he’d won that argument, Riku quit trying to pull her off. He stood still as he waited for her to disengage. That was his mistake. Using the grip she still had on his left arm, she quickly ducked behind him and leaped onto his back. What she lacked in pure strength in comparison to the boys, she more than made up for in agility and flexibility. She had already secured her place on Riku’s back, legs wrapped around his torso and hands firmly gripping his shoulders, before he could do anything to defend himself.

Riku tried reaching back to grab her, but with the way she was positioned on his back, he couldn’t get any leverage. She watched him struggle, arms twisting this way and that in an attempt to reach her. Giggling, she evaded his attempts easily.

“Geez, Kairi, have you become part octopus while I was gone? Your skills in the art of the barnacle are frankly terrifying.” He was starting to realize that he didn’t have the upper hand here, based on the way his movements were growing weaker.   
            “Of course they are,” she teased. “What do you take me for, an amateur? I teach a master class every other Wednesday. You should come next time; we could always use more unwitting targets.”

He struggled for another minute, trying to displace her, before he finally gave a defeated sigh. “Alright, you win. I bow to your unparalleled skill. Try not to move around too much, though, unless you have a burning desire to tumble down all these stairs together.” With that, he started walking toward the large main staircase. She acknowledged his words with a giggle, too ecstatic to do much else.

It felt like the walk down to the main floor took forever, and Kairi was almost sure that Riku was doing it on purpose. He had a firm hand on the railing next to him, and he seemed to be taking extra care with each step. Yes, he was now carrying her weight in addition to his own, but she’d seen him move much faster while carrying more. She huffed out a small, annoyed breath next to his ear and felt him shudder ever so slightly. A wicked grin split her face, and she leaned just a little closer.

She blew a soft breath into his right ear, and she felt more than heard his sudden intake of breath. When she did it again, he shuddered once more.

“ _Don’t_ ,” he whispered harshly, coming to a stop.

“Don’t do what? I’m just breathing,” she said sweetly. Judging by the one-eyed glare she got when Riku turned his head, he wasn’t buying her innocent act. “Maybe if you go faster, I won’t be breathing in your ear for too long.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him, and for a long moment they just stared at each other.

When he finally started moving down the stairs again, his newfound speed made Kairi chuckle and lean back just a little. Despite his earlier warning, the motion didn’t seem to bother him.

Now that Riku was moving at a much more reasonable pace, they reached the main floor rather quickly. He paused slightly, as if expecting Kairi to dismount, but she simply shook her head. Undeterred, he walked quickly down the hallway to the infirmary.

She finally got down from Riku’s back just outside the closed door. Usually Sora would still be fast asleep, unbothered by any attempts to wake him from outside. He’d long since mastered the art of saying phrases like, “I’m awake” and “I’ll be out in a minute” in his sleep, something that Donald and Goofy had only recently become aware of. So, she wasn’t surprised to hear a muffled, “come in!” when she knocked on the door.

What did surprise her, however, was the fact that he was actually awake when she and Riku walked in. From the way he was fidgeting, she could tell that he’d been awake for quite a while. He stilled and gave them a blinding smile once he realized who had walked through the door.

“Hey guys. You came back to see me,” he said, relief evident in his voice. Underneath that, however, Kairi heard a little bit of hesitation. From the way he looked between the two of them, it was clear that he was waiting for something. She gave him a small smile.

While she was positive that Sora had also been part of their shared dream, she also knew that he’d probably be a little uneasy about that revelation, given his recent experiences with dreams and the Sleeping Keyholes. Maybe it would be a good idea not to mention it, for now.

She turned slightly to catch Riku’s eye, trying to communicate that thought without words. Though she wasn’t sure if he understood completely, he gave her a short nod.

“So I thought about what you said,” Riku started, clearly picking up from a conversation the two boys had already had. The effect of his words was instantaneous: Sora sat up straight, a serious expression on his face.

“And?” he asked when Riku didn’t continue. Kairi schooled her face into a neutral expression to match Riku’s, and together they let the moment stretch out. Sora’s face got more and more nervous the longer they remained silent. Any other time, the expression on his face would have made at least one of them cave before too long. But since they were still the tiniest bit annoyed with his lack of self-preservation over the last few weeks, they let him sweat it out a little longer.

Finally, his pathetic expression broke Riku’s resolve. His eyes softened. “I’m saying yes.” When Sora’s face lit up with joy, Kairi couldn’t hide her responding grin.

“Well don’t just stand over there, come here where I can reach you,” Sora said, sticking both hands with a demanding motion.

“Did you just…make grabby hands at me?” The incredulity in Riku’s voice pulled a laugh from Kairi, because that’s exactly what Sora had just done. “Are you five? What did I just get myself into?”

“It’s too late, you already agreed. Now you’re stuck with both of us,” she said as she pulled the older boy along. The offended pout on Sora’s face only served to make her laugh harder.

Riku groaned, but didn’t pull away from her grip. In only a few steps, they’d crossed the room to stand on opposite sides of Sora’s bed. He was turning his head, looking back and forth between them, almost like he wasn’t sure exactly what to do. Kairi decided to have mercy on him this time. She leaned down and grabbed his face, turning it towards her as she slotted her mouth onto his. After his initial surprise faded, he reached his hands up and tangled them gently in her hair. She shivered just a little at the sensation, and Sora pulled her as close as he could.

When she pulled away they were both breathing heavily, but that didn’t stop Sora from turning quickly and pulling Riku down by his shirt until their noses were touching. There was no more hesitation in his movements as he laced his fingers through Riku’s hair and tugged until their mouths met.

As the kiss dragged on, Kairi could feel her face heating. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the two boys. Seeing them getting lost in one another made her heart feel like it might burst. She wondered if Riku had felt like this when she was kissing Sora. Distracted as she was, she didn’t hear the knock on the door before it opened.

“Hey fellas…well, gawrsh, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.” At the sound of Goofy’s voice, Riku stood up quickly, breaking off his kiss with Sora. The trio turned as one to the door with matching mortified expressions. For a few incredibly awkward seconds, no one said anything.

It was Riku who recovered first. “Was there something you wanted to tell us, Goofy?” he asked serenely, like he hadn’t just been caught sucking on Sora’s tongue. Kairi didn’t think she could sound so calm, if she’d been in his position. She’d only been watching, and her tongue was still firmly tied in a knot.

“Yen Sid want to talk to all of us up in his study,” Goofy said, clearly glad to talk about literally anything else.

“I see. You can tell him that we’ll be up shortly,” Riku said firmly. Goofy nodded, and quickly turned to leave. Judging by the red color of his cheeks, the teenagers weren’t the only ones eager to pretend this hadn’t happened. After the infirmary door closed again, Riku turned to give Sora a contemplative look.

“I don’t think I can carry you as easily as I did Kai, but with her help, we should be able to manage it,” he said, his gaze sweeping to include her.

“I can get up there by myself just fine,” Sora said quickly. Kairi held back a sigh while Riku crossed his arms, one eyebrow raised while he gave the other boy a hard stare.

“Sora, you know as well as I do that the walk up to the study is seven flights of stairs on a good day. For someone who passed out from exhaustion less than 36 hours ago, I’d say that’s a little much to do on your own.”

“It’s okay, I feel a lot better. I’ll be fine.” As he spoke, Sora carefully pushed the blanket off his body and pivoted to place his feet on the floor. He eased into a standing position, giving them a smug look as he did so on his own power. However, Kairi could see a slight tremble in his legs that only got worse as he went to take a step. She braced herself to catch him, if necessary.

Sora was able to take one step forward, but then his legs buckled just as she’d thought they might. She swooped in to catch one of his arms around her neck, and she saw that Riku had done the same thing on his other side. It also seemed like he’d caught most of Sora’s weight, which she was grateful for. After the events of the past few days, she knew she wasn’t at her best, and Sora very well might have taken her crashing to the ground with him.

Riku was very obviously holding back a smart remark, trying not to rub Sora’s weakness in his face. Judging by the sour look on Sora’s face, he knew it as well.

Without a word, they helped Sora over to one of the chairs next to the bed to get his shoes back on. They’d wrestled them off at some point after Yen Sid had looked at him, not wanting to have him sleep while wearing them. Sora was silent while they helped him tie the laces, though he finally spoke when they helped him stand once more.

“I wonder why Yen Sid wants us to go up there, anyway. I thought I was under orders from him to stay down here.” Both of Kairi’s eyebrows shot up at that; she hadn’t heard anything of the sort. Her eyes slid over to Riku, who didn’t seem surprised by the comment. In fact, it looked like he was smirking.

“I said you were under strict orders to stay down here. I didn’t say whose orders they were.” Kairi couldn’t hold back a small giggle as Sora sputtered indignantly, looking utterly betrayed. It was a mean little trick that Riku had played, but she couldn’t say that she disapproved. Obviously, Sora was still trying to push himself too far.

Eventually, Sora calmed down, though his face was still fixed in a small pout. Even so, it was clear that he was excited to finally get out of this room. He didn’t do well with isolation, and she wasn’t callous enough to want him to suffer any more. Hopefully, they’d be able to get him settled in his room, or even the den, after they spoke to Yen Sid. Of course, that meant they had to get up all these stairs, first.


	17. A Long-Due Explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yen Sid reveals what he knows about Vanitas and Ventus to our heroes, and an unexpected visitor brings good news

While he was relieved that he wasn’t panting when the trio finally reached the top of the Tower, Riku would be lying if he said he wasn’t breathing hard. Carrying Kairi down two flights of stairs had been a little tricky, but he’d underestimated how much harder it would be to carry someone up the stairs instead of down. Not to mention that they’d actually had to climb nine flights today, two more than he had hoped.

Next to him, Sora wasn’t bothering to keep the pain from showing on his face, a sure sign that he was feeling pretty rough. His arms were still slung around his friend’s necks, and they were probably the only reason he was still upright.

Kairi looked better than Sora, at least, but the sweat that dripped down her neck was a clear sign of her exhaustion. Still, she turned concerned eyes on Sora, hanging heavily between them.

“Riku, can you take him by yourself for a second? I think he needs a Cure spell, but I need my hands free to cast it.” Riku obliged, pulling Sora closer to him, trying to be careful of the injury that he’d discovered last night. Once Kairi was free, she stood in front of the two boys and placed both hands gently on Sora’s chest. Though she didn’t say anything, Riku felt the ripple of magic rush through the younger boy’s body. Immediately, Sora started breathing a little easier and he straightened up a little more.

“Thanks, Kai,” he said, relief evident in his voice as he placed a hand gingerly against the right side of his chest. Despite the Potion from last night and Kairi’s Cure spell, he was clearly still hurting. Riku was more than a little concerned about that, and a quick look at Kairi told him that she felt the same way. They’d have to keep an eye on him the next few days to make sure he was actually healing, and that he didn’t manage to make things any worse.

After a moment, Sora noticed where their attention was focused, and hastily put his arm down. He flashed them a sheepish grin when they only gave him unimpressed looks at the motion. Riku was prepared to grit his teeth and ignore it for now—he’d get on Sora’s case about it later—but Kairi had other plans.

“After we’re done up here, you’re going to let us take a look at your chest. You know as well as I do that if anything’s broken, magic healing isn’t going to be enough to fix it.” Her tone invited no argument, and Riku barely managed to suppress a chuckle as Sora’s face twisted in dismay. Even if the younger boy had promised not to keep things from them, it was obviously not going to be that easy.

Once Kairi was supporting Sora’s other side again, they walked across the landing to the door of the study. Riku knocked, opening the door once he heard a solemn “you may come in.”

The trio was evidently the last to make it up the Tower, as Aqua, Mickey, Donald and Goofy stood in front of Yen Sid’s desk. They all turned to look at the newcomers, surprise and a hint of guilt on their faces as they saw the still-pained way Sora was moving.

“My apologies, Sora; I did not realize you were feeling quite so poorly. Had I known, I would have gathered you all in a different room, perhaps the infirmary.” Yen Sid looked almost contrite, which was downright unnerving. “Although, something tells me that you would have refused that option.”

Riku could barely hold back the snort that his statement provoked. “Sora didn’t exactly tell anyone he was actually hurt, Master Yen Sid. I only found out by accident.”

“Besides, I was ready to get out of that place. The climb wasn’t too bad.” Sora spoke with a cheerful grin on his face, apparently oblivious to the hard side-eye he was getting from both of his companions. Luckily, everyone else was starting to see through Sora’s attempts at diverting their attention, and they collectively decided to refrain from pushing the point.

As the trio stopped in front of Yen Sid’s desk, Sora started pulling away from the other two. Though he was tempted to hold firm, Riku decided to release him before he started to struggle too much. He knew it would make the other boy feel a little better if he didn’t feel completely helpless. Still, he didn’t move too far, remaining close enough that he could catch his friend if needed.

“What was it that you wanted to speak about, Master?” Kairi asked. Riku could see that she also hadn’t moved far from the other boy, and he felt his heart skip a beat at the casual way she ran her hand up Sora’s arm. His lips were still tingling from the heated kissing downstairs, and even though the contact was clearly comforting more than anything, he couldn’t help the way his face started to heat up.

Luckily for his dignity, Yen Sid’s next words grabbed his attention. “I believe I have some new information about the Keyblade Wielder you encountered the other day, Vanitas. More importantly, I think I might know why he attacked you.” Riku’s eyes snapped to the magician in front of him. Yen Sid closed his eyes, and the room was silent as they all waited for him to gather his thoughts.

“In order to explain his motivations, I must explain a little more of his origins. I have come to understand that Vanitas was not born as a full person. Rather, he was created by Master Xehanort, who used his Keyblade to rip the darkness from his young apprentice’s heart.” Here, Riku felt Sora stiffen at his side. Ignoring his own horror at the treatment of the unnamed apprentice, he spared a glance to the other boy. Though his face was pale, Sora’s jaw was set in a determined line. It almost looked like…like Sora had heard this before. Riku narrowed his eyes suspiciously. However, he was pulled from that train of thought when Yen Sid continued speaking.

“The darkness that Xehanort extracted from his apprentice took form as Vanitas, a creature not very different from a Heartless, though he possessed much more awareness than most. However, the extraction nearly shattered the apprentice’s heart, and it was only with the intervention of a strong light that Ventus was able to recover.” Aqua let out a loud gasp at the name, and Riku turned to her in surprise. She looked utterly horrified, her eyes shining suspiciously. Yen Sid paused, also turning to face the Keyblade Master.

“Ventus…is that why he was so quiet when we first met him? And then he passed out so suddenly, when we asked him all those questions…” Her voice trailed off, and she put a hand up to cover her mouth. Suddenly, Riku realized where he’d heard the name before: Ventus had been one of her friends, along with Terra. From what little he’d gathered, the other boy had been about 16 when everything went down, which meant that he’d been even younger than that when Vanitas was created.

“Without assistance, Ventus would have faded away. Luckily, he was able to reach out to a newly-formed heart, which joined with his and allowed him to slowly fill in the holes that had been left by Xehanort’s meddling. Once he was strong enough, it was time for Xehanort to take action. Even separated as they are, Ventus and Vanitas share an unbreakable connection. He had planned to use the two boys to create the χ-blade due to their opposing natures.

“However, when they merged in the Keyblade Graveyard, Ventus was able to overpower Vanitas within his heart. Unfortunately, the effort left his heart fractured once more. He was able to reach out to the same light that had saved him before, though this time the damage was so extensive that his heart left his body. Unknowingly, his savior offered sanctuary within his own heart, and for the past twelve years, Ventus has been sleeping while his heart worked to repair itself.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Riku realized that Sora was standing completely still. Turning his head slightly, he saw that Sora had stood up as straight as he possibly could, which couldn’t be comfortable with his injury. Concerned, he put a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder. Sora’s eyes darted over meet his, and he only gave a small shake of his head in response before he looked over Riku’s shoulder.

A little annoyed at being kept in the dark, Riku turned to see what Sora was looking at and was stunned to see Aqua, eyes still watery with unshed tears, looking at Sora with an emotion he could only describe as awe. Clearly, it made the other teen uncomfortable, because he began fidgeting and refusing to meet anyone’s eye.

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Riku finally broke. “Alright, what’s going on here?” he asked, looking between Sora and Aqua. “You two know something, and I think it’s about time you shared with the rest of the class.” The snark was probably unnecessary, but sometimes he just couldn’t help it.

Sora finally looked at him, his blue eyes wide. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times without anything, before he finally found his words again. “That other boy, the light who helped Ventus…that was me. _Is_ me. Considering that his heart’s still stuck in mine.”

Riku could only stare dumbly at Sora while he continued explaining, telling the story of what happened, that night at the beach. Even if this wasn’t the first time Sora had held someone else’s heart within his own, it still seemed impossible. Since he was four years old, Sora had been playing host to another Keyblade Wielder’s heart without even knowing it. _Although, speaking of knowing about it…_ he turned back to face Yen Sid with accusation on his face. “You knew about this, didn’t you?” The old man only sighed and nodded.

“I must apologize, Riku, for not telling you sooner. I have suspected the possibility that Ventus’s heart was within Sora’s for some time. My suspicions were all but confirmed after you reported to me about your experience while waking Sora after the Mark of Mastery Exam, though I remained silent. As I explained to Sora last night, I kept the knowledge to myself to prevent you from attempting to save him before the two of you were ready. However, I can see now that I was wrong.”

“Okay, so this is all very weird, but what does this have to do with why Vanitas attacked us?” Kairi said. She was probably the only one in the room who wasn’t stunned into silence. Then again, she’d learned a lot of things lately that would have made almost anyone else lose their minds, but she’d taken it all in with unbelievable poise.

“As we’ve established, Vanitas and Ventus share a strong connection. This connection remained even after the failure to create the χ-blade nearly destroyed them both. I believe that when three of you confronted Braig and Isa in the Keyblade Graveyard, the presence of Ventus’s heart within Sora was enough to wake the Vanitas Remnant.”

“But he started attacking Kairi first, not me. If he was after Ventus’s heart, why would he do that?” Sora finally looked at Yen Sid while he spoke, confusion clear on his face.

“Kairi is a Princess of Heart. She gives off a strong presence of light, something so strong that it…confused the Remnant, for lack of a better term. With his darkness extracted, Ventus’s heart would have given off a similar amount of light to Kairi’s heart. That is why Vanitas initially attacked Kairi.”

“But then I caught his attention, and he realized he was going after the wrong person,” Sora interjected as understanding dawned on his face. Yen Sid nodded, visibly pleased that he had connected the dots.

“Indeed. While the Remnant relies mostly on instinct, it possessed enough awareness to understand that it was attacking the wrong individual, and therefore he shifted his attention to you, Sora. I also believe that Vanitas intended to unlock your heart in an attempt to reach Ventus.”

At that, Riku felt the blood drain from his face. Even if he still didn’t quite understand everything that the magician had explained, he definitely could understand what danger Sora had been in during that fight with Vanitas. He hadn’t been able to see much of their battle, but he remembered the end of it: Vanitas had been crouching over Sora, their Keyblades locked between them. Thankfully, Braig and Isa had chosen that moment to retreat with Vanitas, but it sent a chill down Riku’s spine when he realized how close they’d come to losing more than just a fight that day.

Riku was pulled from his thoughts when Kairi spoke again. “So I’m guessing that there’s a reason you’re telling us about Ventus, now.” Movement from his right caught his eye, and he turned to see that Sora was nodding.

“Ventus is the last Guardian of Light. We need to go wake him up. Or really, I have to go wake him up,” Sora said before Yen Sid could respond to Kairi. Everyone started talking at once, and for a minute, chaos reigned. Eventually, Yen Sid fixed them all with a disapproving look, and they quieted enough to let Sora continue.

“His heart is still in me,” he said, putting one hand over his heart. “I’m the only one who can wake him up, so I have to do this.” Riku’s heart felt like it was lodged in his throat at the thought of letting Sora go off by himself again. _He was still hurt_ , he wanted to shout. _You can’t expect him to do this on his own, not right now._ But he couldn’t bring himself to actually speak.

“Sora, you can’t do this alone.” Well, if Riku was struck speechless, at least Kairi didn’t seem to have the same problem. She had grabbed Sora’s left arm and spun him to face her as she gave him a stern look. But Sora only smiled faintly, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his mouth to receive a small kiss.

“I never said I had to do it alone. After all, it looks like I’m going to need some help actually finding him, right Aqua?” All eyes turned to look at the Keyblade Master, who had a determined gleam in her eyes.

“I’m the one who brought him there, and I’m the only one that can find him again. Are you sure you’re ready to wake him up, though?” Sora only nodded in response.

“Though he has yet to be completely forthcoming about his current condition, I believe Sora will need some time to recover,” Yen Sid said. “In three week’s time, the two of you will go to Castle Oblivion—” At the mention of Organization XIII’s former hideout, Donald and Goofy started protesting loudly.

“Master Yen Sid, would it be alright if Kairi and I went as well?” Riku’s stomach twisted at the thought of going back to that place, but he’d be damned if he let Sora go there without him. “The Castle used to be run by Organization XIII, and we still don’t know if Xehanort is going to try to get back in there.” A glance over at Kairi from the corner of his eye revealed that she was nodding in agreement. Even if she had no idea what had happened there, it looked like she was willing to play along with Riku’s cues.

“I thought you might say something of the sort, and I must say that I agree with you. Aqua and Sora may be able to focus more firmly on their individual tasks if you and Kairi are providing backup. However,” Yen Sid held up a hand as Donald, Goofy and Mickey simultaneously volunteered to go as well, “it would be best if we kept the party small, so as not to draw Xehanort’s attention too quickly. While I have no doubt that he wants us to have all seven Guardians of Light, it would be best not to reveal too much of our plans.”

Begrudgingly, the royal trio agreed. Riku could understand how they felt. It sucked to get left behind, especially when your friends are putting themselves in danger. He was just glad that Yen Sid had allowed him to tag along.

“Was there anything else you wanted to discuss, Master Yen Sid?” Even as Aqua spoke, the door to the study burst open and a tall figure with a shock of red hair waltzed in.

“A welcoming party, for little old me? You lot sure know how to make a guy feel special,” Lea said as he approached the desk. Riku scooted a little to the right, trying to make space for the taller man to stand. Even though he’d been instrumental in saving Sora from Xehanort, Riku couldn’t ignore the slight sense of unease he got whenever he was around the man.

“Lea, I take it that you have some news for us?” Yen Sid asked nonchalantly, even though Riku knew damn well he’d probably planned this whole thing out.

“You bet I do. I swung by Radiant Garden just now, and it looks like Even and Ienzo finally cracked the code to DiZ’s research. Turns out pipsqueak over here,” he gestured to Sora, who frowned at the nickname, “was right about its purpose. DiZ had found a way to make new bodies for people out of data, real bodies that could function outside of his digital realms.” Riku’s head reeled at the statement, and he heard the shocked gasps from Sora and Kairi behind him. Even though they’d been looking for a breakthrough in bringing Roxas back, this was almost more than they had dared hope for.

“So, we’ll be able to bring back Roxas, then?” Sora asked quietly. When Riku turned to look at him, it looked like he was holding his breath as he waited for Lea to answer.

“Even said it’ll take some time before they’re able to actually make a new body for Roxas, but yeah. We’re going to bring him back.” Lea’s voice sounded almost fond as he spoke, and Sora sagged in visible relief. “Once they’re done creating a body for him, they’re going to need you to go there—”

“Because Roxas is still in my heart, right? They need me to transfer him into his new body.” Lea didn’t seem too taken aback by the interruption, and nodded at Sora. Then, he turned to Kairi.

“They are planning on making a body for Naminé, as well, which means they’ll need you. But only if the two of you are okay with it.”

Kairi gave him a soft smile. “ I get the feeling that Naminé doesn’t really think she’s worth the effort, but I think it’s a great idea. You can count us in.”

“With all of that settled, I do believe you have all earned some rest. I recommend that you take advantage of the respite while you can, as I’m sure that Xehanort will not remain idle for much longer. Soon, the Guardians of Light will be fully assembled, and we must assume that the 13 Vessels of Darkness will also be ready. The Final Battle grows nearer every day, and we must be ready.” Sensing a dismissal, Riku nodded in understanding and turned to Sora. Without missing a beat, the younger boy slung an arm around Riku’s neck, doing the same to Kairi on his other side. Apparently he wasn’t going to resist their help this time, which was mildly refreshing.

They let all the others file out of the room first, not wanting to make the others walk at their slow pace. _At least we’re going downstairs this time,_ Riku thought.

“Oh, wait just a second,” Kairi said as she ducked out from under Sora’s arm. The two boys stood on the landing as she walked back into Yen Sid’s study. After a brief conversation, she came back out with a smile on her face.

“What was that about, Kai?” Sora asked as she resumed her position at his side. She ignored him, turning to look at Riku instead.

“Let’s get this dork set up in the den. I just had Yen Sid put in a bed for him, since sleeping on that couch would definitely not be comfortable. I also had him move that floor, as well as the residential floor, up a few levels, which means we’ll have to find the others to explain before they get too lost.” Riku groaned in relief, thankful that she’d thought far enough ahead to make that request.

“Oh good,” Sora said between them. “I’m always a fan of fewer stairs. But thanks for asking. I really appreciate it.”

Kairi’s smile turned just a little wicked. “Oh, don’t thank me yet. We still need to check out that injury on your chest, remember? You’re about to get poked and prodded within an inch of your life.”

Riku couldn’t hold back a laugh at Sora’s defeated groan, and together, the trio started making their way down the staircase.


	18. In The World That Never Was

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An epilogue, and a look into what Xehanort is planning

He strolled languidly down the barren halls of the Castle, unhurried despite the good news he carried. His face betrayed nothing but his own boredom. Golden eyes scanned his surroundings, as if expecting an attack. Even if the idea was rather laughable—no one would dare attack him in The Castle That Never Was—it didn’t ease the paranoia that shadowed his every step.

He reached the door to the meeting chamber and opened it, entering smoothly. A quick glance upward told him that he’d been expected. The old man sat in the highest throne, the one that used to belong to Xemnas. He smirked silently, a master awaiting the report of his servant.

Isa bowed his head, though some small part of him screamed at the act of deference. “Master Xehanort, we have retrieved your old apprentice. He is now within the castle walls, ready for when we have use for him.”

“I assume he did not cause too much trouble?” Despite the question, Xehanort’s tone was dismissive.

“Of course not, Master.” A lie, but a necessary one. If Xehanort knew that he and Braig had struggled heavily with the wraith, who seemed inclined to lash out at everyone and everything, then he would think them both weak and unworthy of his time. His opinion of them would also suffer if he knew that the two had struggled even getting the little devil to appear. It was only sheer luck that the Keyblade brats had stumbled upon them and managed to entice the Remnant to materialize. Informing him of their near-failure would very likely lead to punishment. No, he knew that the old man should remain ignorant of these facts.

Realizing that Xehanort was waiting for elaboration, Isa spoke again. “He is currently being detained in the dungeons, as he has proven to be rather indiscriminate in who he attacks.”

“Ah, yes,” Xehanort sighed. “He was too quick to anger before he was broken, I imagine that he must be quite a handful now.”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Isa reassured him.

“Of course, I do not mean to doubt you. However, I trust that you did not come all the way down here to give me old news of my former apprentice. After all, you returned quite some time ago.”

Isa bowed his head once more. “Indeed, Master Xehanort, I bring other news. Even and Ienzo have finally decrypted the data Ansem the Wise left for our young friends. As you suspected, he had found a way to create fully functioning bodies out of data.”

At his words, a smug grin snaked its way across the old man’s features. “Excellent. I take it the fools are none the wiser to our little trick?”

Isa shook his head. “It seems they have yet to detect our movements within the computer system at Radiant Garden. I’m not sure if Even is overconfident in his technical abilities, or simply incompetent enough not to notice.” When they’d arrived at the Castle, Master Xehanort had instructed him to study Vexen’s research on the Replica program, in the hopes that they would be able to revive it for their own purposes. After several months of hitting dead ends, he’d come up with a much better plan and presented it to the old man.

As Ansem the Wise’s preeminent apprentice, Xehanort (and by extension, Ansem and Xemnas) had been intimately familiar with the computer system in Radiant Garden. Isa had sent the pair to the Old Mansion in the hopes that they might be able to access the system, and therefore get a direct link to Ansem the Wise’s previous research, which had served as the starting point for Vexen’s Replica program. Their mission succeeded, despite being seen by Sora and his rather dim-witted sidekicks, and they had retrieved a copy of the system to download onto their own computer. After bypassing the security measures, they’d found something rather delightful: the fools in the laboratory had neglected to change their own operating system, apparently blind to the obvious risks. The Organization was now able to easily access every single detail of the project Even and Ienzo had been working on for the past six months.

“Outstanding work, Isa,” Xehanort said. “However, I am rather curious; have you given any thought as to why I am so interested in this particular research?”

“I admit that it confused me at first,” Isa responded. “After all, while the idea of creating our own puppet seems ideal, the bodies themselves are merely empty shells. They have no agency, and are next to useless for our purposes. Vexen noted something similar with his Replica program, as most of his experiments had to be eliminated.”

The old man nodded approvingly. “You are correct. A completely empty shell would be a rather poor Vessel of Darkness. And have you also surmised where Vanitas comes into play?”

“As he exists currently, Vanitas is only a phantom, malicious and violent as he may appear. He holds very little substance, and would also make a poor Vessel. What we need is a being that has a solid corporeal form, but with enough agency to make him a useful addition to our number. Therefore, I can only assume that you mean to combine Vanitas’s Remnant with a new body, one formed from data as Ansem the Wise has described. I already have some of the others working on creating this new body, with that theory in mind.” He knew the order had been a gamble, given Xehanort’s unpredictability, but Isa knew he’d made the right choice when the old man only smirked triumphantly and reclined back in his chair.

“Truly excellent work, Isa. I see that I made an excellent choice in bringing you within our numbers. You have proven yourself quite useful.” Isa stiffened slightly, the lackluster praise making that small part of his brain shriek in protest once more. “Vanitas has always been a troublemaker, too eager for destruction and chaos to do what he is told. If we are lucky, his near-obliteration at the hands of his lesser half has tempered his disobedient streak. When you have completed your task, inform me as to his state of mind. I need to know how tightly I must hold his leash.”

Isa fought the urge to clench his jaw as he bowed his head. It would be a poor decision to show his displeasure at the casual dismissal. However, he did elect to push his luck with one final question. “Once we have brought Vanitas fully into the Organization, what is our next step, Master?”

Xehanort merely tilted his head, resting it on his hand as he gazed down from his perch. His face still wore that smug little grin that made Isa clench his jaw in irritation. “Once the Organization is complete,” he said imperiously, “we wait for our dear little Guardians of Light to find the last member of their group. Then, and only then, can the final battle to create the χ-blade take place.”

With a solemn nod, Isa turned and left the room. The moment he was out of the room, a searing pain shot through his head and he resisted the urge to slump to the ground. _Not again_. His eyes darted around the hallway once more in search of a hiding place while still pretending nothing was amiss.

By now, the others would surely be immersed in the process of building the data body, and wouldn’t miss his presence. It would allow him the few minutes he needed to compose himself, and he managed to duck into a dark alcove before grabbing at his head. His harsh breaths echoed loudly as he rested his forehead against the cool wall.

Despite the many years of working with Xemnas, and now his work under Xehanort, Isa couldn’t smother the small part of his brain that balked at every move they made. That small part had only grown louder after the confrontation several months ago, when Xehanort had almost managed to turn Sora into their thirteenth member. Memories of echoing laughter and a boy with bright red hair lingered around the edge of his mind, no matter how ruthlessly he tried to drown them out. Those memories had no place here, in this time.

Though it took longer than he would like to admit, eventually Isa was able to control his breathing once more and firmly squashed down the rebellious voice in his head. Standing up straight, he walked out of the small alcove he had been hiding in and continued down the hall as if nothing had happened. His face impassive once more, he made his way back to the computer room. After all, he still had work to do, and he wouldn’t rest until they forged the χ-blade and gained access to Kingdom Hearts.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So many thanks to my beta-reader, eternal-fanboy-scout. She was awesome and really helped me whip this story into shape. 
> 
> If you guys are looking for me on tumblr, just look for my Kingdom Hearts sideblog, thekeybladetomyheart. I post some of my writing there, including fan theories and the like. Also, if you want to follow my main blog, look for throw-it-out-the-damn-window. Thanks so much for reading, leave a comment/kudos if you liked the story!


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